Discipleship takes time: don't give up | Youth Leaders http://www.youthleadersacademy.com

But Jesus didn’t. He not only didn’t give up on Peter, He completely redeemed him and affirmed him. And what was Peter’s reaction? He wanted to know what would happen to John…Peter has just experienced God’s grace and he reacts by doing something very human: asking about someone else. And this is the guy that’s supposed to lead the church?

Jesus never lost faith in Peter. He gave him a second, a third and even a fourth chance.

When we disciple young people, we can get very discouraged because all our time and efforts don’t seem to make a difference. We spend so much time with them, teaching them about Jesus, showing them the way, only to find out they got drunk at a party or messed up with their girlfriend. We pour our life into them, and they betray us in whatever way. It makes us want to quit altogether.

Don’t give up. Discipleship takes time, a lifetime even. After three years of the best discipleship course ever, Peter still did some pretty dumb stuff. And Jesus loved him nonetheless and didn’t give up on him.

Don’t give up, keep loving your students and keep investing in discipling them. In the end, they may end up leading the church, doing bigger and better things than you ever thought possible. Because our God is an awesome God who uses people we would have given up on a long time ago.

via www.youthleadersacademy.com