By Not Known
Several people influenced me a great deal when I was growing up as a young
Christian. These people poured their lives into me and helped me stand firm on a
few areas that formed the foundation of my Christian life, Above all, four things
figured well above many other things as these people gave of their time to nurture
me to be who I am today.
One: they engaged me in the word of God to discover who Christ is and to help me
apply the truths learnt into my life. These people taught me to pray and to
meditate on Gods word. Knowing God personally topped their concern for my life.
We would wake up early in the morning just to study the Bible and pray together.
We met under street lamps and we would get to school before everyone else. They
took John 14:21 seriously.
Two: they discipled me one-on-one and life-on-life. Both Paul and Jesus believed in
the worth of the individual, so I was taught. They spent much time with me
individually. It did not matter to them what activity we were engaged in, we were
closest of friends doing things together. We swam, jogged, watched movies,
attended Keswick Conventions, talks, whatever. In each activity, we related what
we had learnt from the Bible to life. Most of all, we studied the Bible, prayed and
memorised Scriptures together.
Three: they equipped me to multiply my life. They honed my skills in Bible study so
that I not only understood what the Bible said but also being able to listen and
discern what God was saying to me personally. They watched me from the side and
helped me to see what gifts there were. They encouraged me to develop and use
those gifts for God in the body of Christ. They deliberately placed me into
situations where I was thrust into ministries and gradually gained confidence in
using those gifts.
Four: they helped me to maintain the centrality of Christ in my life. I fell several
times. I thought I disappointed them each time, but I realised later that those
times of failures were also times of deep learning. In fact, some of these were
actually subtly "engineered" so that I may learn the lessons. At the very core of
helping to nurture someone growing in the Lord must be the emphasis on developing
intimacy with Christ. It is helping the person gain confidence and dependency on
God and not on any individual.
Today, while I am thankful to each of those who have influenced my life, I am most
grateful to God for bringing them to me and serving as part of my growing up. In
the same way, God could be using you to help someone grow in his or her life. Be
sensitive to God in seizing every opportunity to nurture the life that God places in
your hand.