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Lesson of Discipleship from William

Since William was old enough to pray in language only God could understand, his sister and I have prayed with him at bedtime, as consistently as possible anyway.  I've always hoped he was listening and might learn something about God in the process.  Tonight I asked him if he wanted to pray and he did, and for the first time he thanked God for dying for our sins.  My son is being discipled, and the more I reflect the more I realize that listening to the prayers of his sister and I is really a very small part of that discipling process.

This discipleship of my kids doesn't happen in a day or a week, and it doesn't happen as a result of another Bible study on Sunday afternoons.  Their discipleship happens as Jill and I's life overlaps theirs, and their discipleship will continue as long as this is true (which by God's grace should for a while). 

This is the model Jesus gave us in the gospels.  His life overlapped the lives of His disciples for three whole years.  They got to observe Him as he interacted with the masses of people, as he confronted the error of the Pharisees, as he showed compassion to the needy, as he taught and preached repentance, and yes, as he prayed to the Father.  Jesus invited the disciples into his life, and he lived his life in their presence, and this is an often overlooked aspect of effective discipleship. 

Perhaps we don't need more Bible studies at church, but more opportunities for our lives to overlap the lives of the undiscipled, opportunities that may initiate an invitation for them to enter our lives, and for us to live our lives in their presence.  Perhaps.

P.S.  Since I've started back to class, my blogging will be fairly rare as I'm swamped with reading and other such studying exercises.  Thank you for reading.