Apprenticeship

 

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:1-7 ESV).

 

An old saying about mentoring and apprenticeships goes something like this: “I do, you watch; I do, you help; You do, I help; You do, I watch.” Perhaps you were one of the fortunate folks who took a woodworking class in High School. As strange as it may sound, I was not. I did not begin my “apprenticeship” in woodworking until later. The same was true for my career training. I did not begin any formal study or mentoring in ministry until I was in college. I was very fortunate to have three wonderful men who allowed me learn from them. That old saying was true for me. I watched and learned, then I practiced while they watched and corrected if necessary. Through the years I have used this methodology of discipleship many times.

 

Jesus trained his disciples, and they passed along to others what they learned from him. An apprentice commits to learning from a master and then becomes experienced and able to teach others. In our reading today, Paul urges Timothy to remember his training and to pass it along to reliable people who can teach others. By his grace, God wants to be in relationship with us in Christ, to fill us with his Holy Spirit, and to show us how to live fully so that we share all this with others. God wants us to be his apprentices.

 

A powerful image in The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis illustrates this well. This unusual book is written from the perspective of a demon (or devil) who is attempting to explain God’s great plan for humankind: “One must face the fact that all the talk about [God’s] love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. [God] really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself—creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own … because their wills freely conform to His.” How is your apprenticeship going?