In the Living Deeper book, I shared how a young man in Biblical times went from an apprentice to a rabbi or the teacher of the Law. Once a rabbi chose his apprentice, the young man would leave his father and mother, and follow closely behind the rabbi, mimicking everything his teacher did. As the two walked on together, people would offer this blessing: "May the dust of your rabbi fall on you."
I've thought about that a lot in my life. Do I follow so closely behind my Rabbi, to Jesus, that His dust would fall on me? Have I forsaken all others to follow Him and mimick His ways? And if I asked someone to walk alongside of me, would the dust I leave on them reflect Jesus?
When I thought further about dust, I had to admit that I don't like dust on my shoes. And I don't like dust on my bare feet, especially when I wear sandals. It dries my feet out and makes me feel dirty. The first thing I do is try to get the dust off! And yet, as a discipler, the truth is that sometimes to walk with another means walking with them through really difficult times.
When it comes to discipleship, things are gonna get messy. It almost always does. The longer you walk together, the more the Spirit surfaces areas in our lives that need to be dealt with. We need someone to get in the trenches with us, fight for us and with us. Not abandon us in our greatest hour of need. We can't always want to keep it "clean".
I'm reminded of the verse "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." To me, this verse is saying that when a friend is going through a messy spot, I continue to love her and actually say, "I was born for this! This is why God made us friends! To be there in your time of need. To get through the muddy puddles of life with you."
So here's our challenge for the week: may we walk so closely to Jesus that all of who He is falls over everything we are a part of. And may we be an always loving friend, willing to go through the tough, messy times with those God has placed in our lives. Have a great week!
It seems that most people don't like to get messy with others. Why do you think that is?
Written by Jena Forehand, Author of Living Deeper: Women helping women walk with God. To find out more, click here
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