If someone in our lives was going to be given the title of ‘faith developer’, who would it be? A faith developer is someone who’s had a huge influence on our lives. They’ve shown us the way we want to live, they’ve inspired us to keep going when we want to quit, they’ve got super strong faith which we aspire to have one day. They’re the most Christlike person we know. That person may be someone in our family, a friend, a member of our church. Whoever it is, they’ve played a significant role in helping us reach the level of faith we’re at now. And it’s like a chain reaction. Someone helps develop our faith, and, in turn, we can then help develop someone else’s faith. Timothy is a great example of this. Paul tells us that Timothy has ‘sincere faith’ and that his grandmother and mother also had this faith too. They helped build up Timothy’s faith, so that, at a young age, Timothy became a key figure in the spread of the gospel. Paul advised him: ‘Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity’ (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV). We don’t always like hearing advice from other people, but when they’re sharing God’s wisdom with us we need to be listening and taking it on board. If there’s someone we feel God’s showing us could use some guidance or encouragement, let’s share the wisdom that He gives to us with them and be someone else’s ‘faith developer’.

What now?

Think of someone who has played a significant role in developing your faith. If you can, thank them in some way today.