I’ll bet for most of us, a teacher or a parent at one time or another threw down a hypothetical situation for you to contemplate. It goes something like this. If you have a choice, which of these situations would you choose? To be given one million dollars, or to be given one penny the first day, double that penny the next day, then double the previous day’s pennies and so on for an entire month? There’s no doubt in the mind of an adolescent that a million dollars is more than all those pennies added up because each penny is worth so little. I mean, how could even a whole lot of pennies be anywhere near a million dollars? Right? OK, you adults out there know the true outcome of this scenario. If you keep doubling your pennies, you’ll wind up with many more than a million dollars…actually over 11 million dollars. That’s the principle of multiplication.
Now let’s apply this principle to what many call discipleship. A key definition and component of Christian discipleship is that we are not only called to learn the teachings of Jesus Christ, we are also called to live them. The Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2 says, “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” It starts small, but it grows big, creates a movement and can change the world. Anybody got a penny?