Deuteronomy 11:2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm.

In raising up disciples, we’ve got to remember that they haven’t experienced God in the same way we have. It’s entirely possible that they will go on to experience Him in even greater ways, but the point is that they don’t yet have the same framework for understanding that we have. This can be a good thing, because we probably have blind spots, based on our past experiences, that they may be able to avoid. The point of this verse, however, is that we cannot assume understanding in those we teach, whether they be our physical children or others. We have to tell them why we believe things as we do, relating things to our experience but founding them on the Word of God. Even there, or perhaps especially there, we are not to assume understanding. Far too many people parrot Scripture without letting it get into their hearts and open their eyes. Raising up disciples involves getting the Word into hearts – our own, and those we are training, and this requires the work of the Holy Spirit.

This has been a major weak point of my ministry. Having been raised in something of a “Scripture hot-house,” passages come easily to mind and understanding isn’t generally very difficult. However, few people have such a background, and assuming they understand has gotten me into trouble more times than I could count. I’ve got to break things down and simplify them, building understanding one block at a time, rather than trying to create a completed edifice overnight. I am indeed to teach Scripture, but I’ve got to relate it to things my hearers can in turn relate to. This is the major challenge of cross-cultural evangelism, but it is also a challenge in cross-generational evangelism. The degree to which young people today live in a different world from that in which I was raised, faith issues aside, is mind-boggling to think about. I’ve got to express eternal truth in culturally relevant ways. The illustration of sumo wrestlers that came to mind yesterday is a good one. I’ve got to be sensitive to people and sensitive to the Holy Spirit in order to do more of that!

Father, thank You for how You have changed me, particularly over the past several years. Thank You for where You have me and this church right now. May we move on into all that You desire and intend for us, becoming and raising up disciples who will be fully available and useful to You, for Your kingdom and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!