Living his name, living his soul,/from the crowds he prepared under the holy law.

  - Dallan Forgaill, Amra Choluimb Chille (Irish, 6th century)

...and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

  - 2 Timothy 2.2

Certainly we can't go wrong by working to leave a legacy of disciples who will follow Jesus long after we have departed. Paul could see, so to speak, three generations beyond himself: Timothy, faithful men, others also. You can believe that he trained Timothy to have that same vision.

Colum Cille was a great disciple-maker as well. "Crowds" of disciples carried on his work after he had been taken home to the Lord. He trained them well, gave them a vision for reaching the world, and taught and equipped them to teach others also.

The mandate to "make disciples" falls to every believer in Jesus Christ. We make disciples when we encourage those who are walking with the Lord to seek Him more diligently and obey Him more completely. We make disciples when we build up all the Christians in our Personal Mission Field by words of instruction and encouragement and deeds of sacrificial love.

But we also make disciples by telling the Good New of Jesus to the people God has put into our lives, calling them to consider Jesus and the gift of eternal life He offers. If we have a vision for making disciples, every day will include some activities to reach and build others for the Lord.

And if we don't have a vision for disciple-making, then the legacy we leave will surely not be crowded with folks who are walking with Jesus, or walking closer with Him.

This requires prayer, plannning, and intentional living - living that sees us thinking and acting in ways that move people toward Jesus, His Kingdom, and the path of righteousness. It doesn't matter what our calling or station in life may be. We're all called to the glorious work of making disciples.

May it be said of us that the name of Jesus continues to the third generation beyond us in the lives of those we encourage, instruct, exhort, and serve in the name of the Lord and for the progress of His Kingdom.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.