As
anyone who has kids can tell you, most times potty training isn’t easy.
It’s not just pointing your infant towards the toilet and saying go ahead and
use it. Instead there is a lot of training that is involved, from how to sit on the
toilet all the way to how to flush and everything in between. Most of the
time the child will do well for a bit, regress a bit, and then finally figure
it out, and from that
point there isn’t much instruction needed.
If
something like potty training is so difficult, why do we as Christians often
act like discipling a new Christian is less work? While our mission on
earth is to go out and make disciples, we often forget that it’s more than just
talking to someone, pointing towards heaven, and then walking away.
Discipling a new believer takes time, and we need to be walking alongside the new
believer and being there with them the entire way. If we’re there with
them as they start their journey, then they will have someone there to
help them if they stumble, someone who will keep them going in the right
direction.
When
was the last time you helped lead someone to Christ? Did you stay
with them once they accepted Christ into their life, or did you just leave them
alone from that point? Just remember that the job isn’t done when you
show them the door to heaven, you have to show them how to walk through it as
well.
