“After the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, and after saying farewell, departed to go to Macedonia. And when he had passed through those areas and offered them many words of encouragement, he came to Greece and stayed three months. ”
Acts 20: 1-3a

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MAY 6, 2025

For all our modern inventions and conveniences designed to give us more time, we are busier than ever. Ask someone How are you? and you’re likely to hear Busy! in response.

We are too busy. Some of it cannot be helped. But some of our busyness is self-inflicted. We claim, “I don’t have time!” Yet the truth is we do have time. It’s just a matter of how we choose to use the time we have. We do have the ability to choose how we use at least some portion of our time.

In our passage this week, I’m struck by how much time Paul invested in teaching and discipling the young church. This task consumed most of his energy. Paul traveled from church to church, teaching, rebuking, and encouraging them through the word of God. And Paul spent as much time as he could investing in quality discipleship. He wanted to make sure these young churches understood the gospel correctly. He wanted to refute other teachings that were in opposition to the gospel.

Why is discipleship so time consuming? One reason is because it takes us so very, very long to learn! How many of us need to hear the gospel once and never need to hear it again? None of us! We forget God’s words and teachings, we get distracted and discouraged, we get led astray. That is why discipleship is so time consuming. Like the plants in my garden, we need ongoing maintenance season after season.

When we look at our lives, how much of our time do we devote to discipleship—of our own hearts and of those around us?

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What activity consumes most of your time?
  • Is there an activity you can let go of in order to spend more time in discipleship?
  • Do you spend most of your time working for things that are temporary or for things that will last forever?

 

Church Reading Plan: Numbers 14; Psalm 50