This week in The Frontier Men’s Bible Study we covered chapter 4 of The Master Plan of Evangelism, entitled “Impartation” (notes available here). Kevin Davis, who led the discussion, did a great job of focusing our attention on the connection between investing in other people and giving. To shape a person’s life the way Jesus shaped His disciples’ lives, we must give of ourselves.
Practically speaking, this means that we must often surrender our personal agendas for the sake of those whom we lead. Make no mistake, if we want to impact others positively, we’ve got to give them ourselves. This is difficult. It costs us something.
What else would we expect, though? Jesus told us that anyone who wants to follow Him (that is, to do as He did and does) must “take up his cross daily” (Luke 9:23). The text does not say “pick up his marshmallow occasionally.” Each and every day we should expect to make sacrifices for Jesus.
The great news, though, is that making such sacrifices leads to a greater experience of the abundant life that Jesus desires for us (John 10:10). He was right, of course, when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
— Beau Stanley
