Every
time I travel through the airport in Johannesburg this African proverb on a
noticeboard grabs my attention, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want
to go far, go together.”
I’ve
definitely been more of a loner throughout my life. Leaving home when I was
turning 23 started my journey of independence that continued for the following
27 years. I’ve had to be constantly reminded that life isn’t about going fast,
but rather far. The environment that God has used to teach and remind me of
this has been living in Africa for the past 15 years. My initial years here
were frustrating to say the least. My fast-paced, goal-oriented western
mentality wanted to get things accomplished yesterday! People just kept
interrupting the process. I must admit it took years for me to finally clue
into what God was really after. He wasn’t concerned about going fast alone, but
about going far together. This is exemplified over and over in the Scriptures
with Jesus walking together with His disciples for the three years of His
earthly ministry. Even Paul travelled with Timothy, Titus and numerous others.
Many of them he was discipling as they journeyed along those dusty roads.
I’ve
endeavoured to put this principle into practice when hiking mountains by asking
some of my spiritual children to join me. Although most of them have never done
it before the idea of hiking up a mountain intrigues them. Then they see the
height of it and ask how far are we climbing and I point to the top. After the
first few ascending steps they wonder what they’ve got themselves into. Some of
them get the hang of it quickly; some have to be coaxed up the entire ascent;
some sit down on a nearby rock and tell me they can’t go on, but with
encouragement slowly continue. What elation there is when they get to the
summit and look down to see how far they’ve come. The perspective they have from
the top makes it all worth it.
I liken
this experience to discipleship. The greatest chance we have of going far is by
going together. I could have reached the top of those mountains faster if I was
alone. But instead I chose to slow down and make sure those who were struggling
were going to make it along with the rest of us. I had experienced the view
from the top and I wanted them to experience it too. As with hiking, every step
of the discipleship process can be used to instruct, to teach, to encourage, to
challenge.
I was
recently speaking to one of my spiritual sons whom I’ve been walking with for
the past 10 years. I well remember him taking baby steps at the beginning of
his relationship with Jesus. On many occasions I challenged him to come up
higher in areas of his character. On his 27th Birthday I surprised
him with a leadership Bible as I saw that gift in him. Now years later, I am
hearing him speak about the Word and how he is applying it in his life and
using it to challenge and encourage those he is now leading. It was so evident
he was seeing things and people from God’s perspective. I believe this is true
because we chose to go far together.
Perhaps
we all need to re-evaluate how we travel. We may be travelling fast because we
are alone, but how far are we really going to get?
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