September 26 Trainer Jesus

Luke 6:39-40 He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
 
JESUS very much wants you to live as he did during his life as a man on earth. The key to fulfilling Jesus’ will is to be trained in his teaching. Let’s look at some biblical understanding of “trained”.
   First, we see it here in the “blind parable”. Two blind men walking together into new territory filled with pits will certainly fall into one. How could they not? They don’t know the safe path to walk. However, if someone trains them to take “3 steps forward, 2 steps left, 8 steps right”, for example, they will be trained to “see” their way safely through. Three things must happen in this training: proper teaching, proper listening and proper doing. If one of these three is missing, the whole training process is useless. Effective raining is a three-step process between the trainer and the trained.
   See this, too, in the familiar Bible teaching on training in Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Understand that this doesn’t merely say, “Tell a child what to do, so he’ll be good.” Training is about following. Right training for a child begins with proper instruction to follow right examples. That means parents and others are to what they instruct. Children are quickly led astray when we teach one thing and walk another way. True training comes from properly speaking God’s truth, listening with learning ears and living into the truth. That means we teachers must study and know God’s Word, so we can correctly train the next generation. Also, know this is a process of working together. Help your children to know the Kingdom way and even to know when you make mistakes. A humble parent who can admit, “I was wrong.” is an effective trainer for Jesus.
    Jesus trained this way. He trained his disciples through his words and his life. In Acts, we see the Twelve apostles (Matthias had replaced Judas.) knew exactly how to live as Jesus. He had trained them onto the proper pathway into the Kingdom of God. Fully equipped, they began to train the world in Christ.
   Be trained up in Jesus’ words. Listen to his preaching. Trust his instructions. Walk into his teachings. Your eyes will be open to avoid a great many pitfalls down life’s pathway. If you make a mistake and fall in, know your training will give you the way to climb out and return to your journey with Jesus.
 
Prayer: Thank you for training me, Jesus. Amen.