discipleship - pearls

By: Lizzie Williams

It’s big-little season! Ahhhh! This is such an exciting time, especially for soon-to-be-bigs and soon-to-be-gbigs. I hope that we have all been loving on these rubies and showing them what it truly means to be part of the Theta Alpha family. As they become pearls, we need to continue to show love to each and every girl, whether she is in your family line or not. But for the girls who do end up joining you family line, we need to be prepared to really pour into them. Bigs and G-bigs I’m talking to you!

First off, g-bigs, please don’t zone out because you’ve already taken a little. Your job of discipleship is incredibly important, especially now! Because as your pour into your little, she will be pouring into her little. The things you say and the things God says through you could potentially have an impact on multiple people as it is passed through one discipleship to another. So, be intentional in your time together and remember what discipleship is truly about.

And bigs, stop for a second and really think about what you are about to take on. Yes, you’re probably broke from buying gifts, and stressed from lady dating, but don’t forget about the end result. We are about to take on the task of discipling someone, but what does this mean? Simply put, it means we are in charge of pouring into them, reminding them of God’s truth, and helping them grow. This requires us doing our quiet times and being filled with God’s love. Afterall, how are we going to pour into someone if we, ourselves, are not filled? This requires us being patient; we may give our littles advice and they may do the complete opposite thing, but we need to remember how many times God has tried to tell us something and we’ve blown him off as well. This also requires self-control. It will not be easy to continuously meet with our littles, but it is so necessary. Therefore, we need to have self-control and time-management so that we make a habit out of meeting together.

Why are these things important? Because they are exactly the things Jesus did as a disciple. Jesus spent time alone with God, replenishing himself, before discipling others (Mark 1:35). He had patience with his disciples. For example, Jesus definitely had to have patience when Peter tried to walk on the water and then started to doubt and sink, and again when all the disciples were arguing who was the best (Matthew 14:22-33, Luke 9:46). And of course, Jesus, the man who never sinned, had to exercise self-control. Look at when Judas, his disciple, came to have Jesus arrested, and Jesus didn’t retaliate but trusted God and exercised self-control (Matthew 26:50).

Those are just a few examples of Jesus as the perfect discipler, so I recommend reading and studying at least one of the gospels this week and really diving into how to disciple like Jesus. Other good ways to prepare may be reading about the fruits of the spirit, which will be important to have during this time. Also, refresh yourself on the armor of God. Why? Because the enemy knows that we are trying to further the kingdom of God by encouraging and equipping these girls, and he does not like that. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy, and you’re kidding yourself if you think he isn’t going to try to destroy the beautiful discipleship that is about to take place (John 10:10). And I hope g-bigs and even gg-bigs are still reading because during this time, they should be so intentional in praying for their littles and g-littles during this process.