How to Get There Faster

Years ago, Cheryl and I were in Germany trying to find a certain place. We knew we were close by but weren’t sure exactly how to get there. As I was driving, I saw a man getting out of his car along the street. I rolled down the window and said “Sprechen Sie English?” “Yes,” he replied, so I asked him how to get to our destination. Then his response completely shocked me. He simply said, “Follow me.” He then got back into his car and drove to our destination while I followed. After pointing to the building, he waved goodbye and drove off.

Finding our way to our purpose in life is like this story—we often need someone to follow. Did you ever wish you had someone to just personally take you where you needed to go? Or someone to walk you through the learning process? Often we don’t even know what we need to learn or how to learn it. In ministry, we assume that if people have the Bible and come to church weekly that these things alone should turn them into powerful, effective servants of the Most High. But it doesn’t work that way. There is no great substitute for learning from someone else or by doing.

Even Jesus gave most of His time to “personal training.” Then he sent His disciples out to learn by doing. That was how Jesus made disciples. In fact, that is what the word disciple means—a learner. Yes, these were the first apostles as well, but the word apostle simply means sent one. Mark 3:14 says, “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.” Jesus not only taught them but allowed them to just be with Him, passing on more than information. The word translated “preach” really means to make an announcement. So Jesus chose them to be trained so He could send them to “announce” the coming of the Kingdom. We all know that God has called us into His kingdom mission as our life’s purpose, but you will get there faster if you find someone to follow!