I toured the Holy Land in 2017. Those days forever colored my reading of God’s Word, preaching, and group Bible study. When places or events are mentioned, my mind calls up images of my time in Israel. Two of those images are the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.
The Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee was alive. Fish regularly jumped out of the water before cold rain and wind came in while we were out on the water. (The image of Jesus and the disciples on the Sea is so much more vivid now.) The water with the wind came alive with waves.
The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea was Dead. I saw no life except humans. There were no waves. After I floated, I had difficulty in getting my feet onto the ground because of the buoyancy caused by minerals.
What was the difference in the two seas? In a nutshell, the Sea of Galilee had water flowing into AND out of it. The Dead Sea only had water flowing into it. The main way the Dead Sea was losing water was through evaporation.
That illustration from the Holy Land made me ask myself a question about discipleship. Could the difference in a growing disciple and one not growing be the lack of an inlet AND an outlet? Hear me out.
Some disciples are not growing because they have stopped being teachable. They no longer pray and study God’s Word; they lack a continuous inlet. Other disciples have stopped growing not because they don’t pray and study God’s Word but because they keep it all to themselves. They lack an outlet. They are not discipling anyone else with what God has taught them.
Which One Are You?
Are you praying, studying, and discipling others? Do you have an outlet for what God is teaching you? If you do, I believe you will grow more as a disciple. Jesus expects us to make disciples. Anything less is unhealthy as a disciple and is disobedient. Be a Sea of Galilee disciple. Make disciples!
