Good Question

A couple months ago I was having a conversation with a leader I deeply respect. This woman is a spiritual director on a Christian college campus, and spends quite a bit of time in mentoring, teaching and discipling young people. In a seminar I was attending she mentioned a question she often asks the people who come to her for prayer or advice. She begins by asking what they have heard from Jesus in their quiet time that week.

The question struck me because it's not a big heavy, "You need to be having your quiet time." It's not a legalistic, "Do this because I said so." It's a reality check. If we want wisdom and help from the Lord, we need to be listening to Him. If we're going to others for prayer and advice, we are admitting our need, and her question points people to Jesus rather than creating a dependence on someone else.

See, if I listen to God regularly, and so I become known as someone with wisdom, people begin to seek me for wisdom. But if I'm truly wise, I will not allow them to establish a dependence on me, but rather, help them see that their true dependence is on God alone. Point them to Jesus.

Do I do a bigger favor to my friends, family and ministry groups if I pour out myself for them and give them my opinions, insights and life-lessons, or if I point them to Jesus and train them to receive their own insights and life-lessons from the Lord?

There are times when, as we do life together, we glean and learn from one another. There are other times when, in teaching settings, it is appropriate for one person to study, glean and share with others what the Holy Spirit has put in their heart. These are good, even great, gifts to the body of Christ. We are called to encourage one another and build each other up, yet we are also admonished that Jesus is the only one who can truly meet our needs.

So let's point each other to Jesus.

What did you hear from Jesus in your quiet time this week?