We're to help each other figure out how to live this faith life. God has taught you something that you can teach someone else. We're a family. We are to help each other. The person who is your trainee might not even know he or she is your trainee. But you know. Or you know now (now that you're thinking about it). If you're a parent then of course some of your trainees will be your children, but don't stop there.
Recently I got bees. I was so excited. They arrived and things were going good. Only one sting happened on the day Shannon and I put them in the hive. I have fallen in love with that tiny creature God made that is so intelligent and beautiful and amazing! Yesterday when I checked the hive at dawn (one of the lessons I've already learned -- check the hive right before the sun comes up. The bees are sleeping! Makes checking easier) all my bees were dead. Oh, I was sad. I am still sad. Yet, in my two or three weeks experience I've learned a few lessons (besides the dawn one). Another lesson I learrned is that you have to feed the bees constantly if it is a new hive. I didn't get this. I thought it was just for the first few days. So, yes, my bees died of hunger. We found out yesterday a new hive probably will go through 100 pounds of sugar (in the sugar syrup the beekeeper makes and feeds them) in the first year. I am still a beekeeper, just a beekeeper without bees at the moment. I will get some more next year and will see my new bees flourish. We'll take this time to make our bee box better and the sugar syrup container more sturdy (and I even get to paint the bee box fun colors now).
I am obviously a novice at the bee thing, but I know a few things. If someone came to me wanting to know about bees I could share with him or her what I know. He or she would need other sources other than me obviously, but I still could share what I know.
That is how it is with the faith life. Maybe you're a brand new Believer. Great! You have something to share with someone because there is someone who isn't a Believer or someone who might be a doubting or discouraged Believer. You have something to share. We all do.
"The ultimate goal of our faith journey is to relate to the person of Jesus, because it is our relational connection to Jesus that will produce Christlikeness and spiritual growth. This relational perspective of discipleship is required if we hope to have a faith that is marked by the Spirit's power. Models of discipleship that are based solely upon what we know and what we do are incomplete, lacking the empowerment of a life of loving and living intimately with Jesus. A Spirit-empowered faith is relational and impossible to realize apart from a special work of the Spirit." The Great Commandment Network
Relating to and loving Jesus and then relating to and loving others is what life is about. Why wouldn't we want to share the Best Friend Ever with someone who needs a friend? That Best Friend Ever is Jesus! And He is such a wonder that He can be everyone's Best Friend Ever!
There's not much time left for any of us (even if we live to 100). Maybe we could give ourselves a goal -- help one person a year learn how to live this faith life. If you live another 20 years that would mean you have discipled 20 people. And hopefully that is 20 people discipling their own 20 people and so on. Some mathmatician somewhere can figure out how many that would be. Jesus had 12 disciples. Yes, He touched 1000s of lives in His 3 years of ministry, but He focused on 12. Who can you focus on this year? Just one person or maybe just three. Whatever. We don't have time to do this later. We must do this now. The gift we each have within ourselves, the Holy Spirit -- He must be shared. He is the gift. He is the One who leads us in this life. Share Him. Again, we don't have much time.