Episode #59 - Blue's Clues & Investing In People

Steve from Blue's Clues is back! Yes, you read that right - for the 25th anniversary of the show, Steve came back to share a message with the world, and it's powerful! I embedded the audio into the podcast so you can listen to yourself, but ultimately he had a lot to say about how none of us would be where we are today without each other then. He's talking about investing in people. Well...that's also called discipleship. We invest our time, energy, and love into others to help them grow. You might not ever see the fruit of your labor, but it doesn't mean you've never made a lasting difference. 

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Transcript

Welcome back to all of our listeners! I’m BJ Sipe, and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above podcast – where everyday ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in today, I am excited to share my life and my faith with you, and I sure hope that you’ll do the same with me along the way. 

This morning I woke up to my wife bringing me a hot cup of coffee in bed after the kids were already up and at it early this morning. I stretched, went through my day in my head and started to catch up on messages and notifications I had already received today. I finished catching up on my emails and started going through news highlights when there was a headline that caught my attention: Steve from Blue’s Clues Bids Farewell. Whaattt? For those of you that are not familiar with the very popular kids show, Steve was the first host of Blue’s Clues which is one of my and many others favorite childhood memories. However, after six years with the show, Steve had a fairly abrupt departure from the show. One episode he announced that he was “going off to college” and that his brother Joe would be taking over, and that is the last time anyone had ever heard from him. That was until today, where to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show Steve came back to address his fans with a short video. I immediately clicked on it, curious to see what it was going to be about. Was he going to address the reason he left? Was he going to be coming back? I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly did not expect the video that I watched. You know what, rather than read it to you, let me just share it with you and you can give it a listen. Here you go. “Hi. You got a second? Okay, you remember how when we were younger we used to run around and hang out with Blue and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt and freak out about the mail and do all the fun stuff; and then one day I was like, ‘Oh hey, guess what? Big news….I’m leaving. This is my brother Joe, he’s your new best friend,’ and then I got on a bus and I left. And we didn’t see each other for like a really long time. Can we just talk about that? Great. Because I realize that was kind of abrupt, I just kinda got up and went to college. And then look at you, and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time! And it’s just…it’s so amazing, right? I mean we started out with clues, and now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs and families…and I wanted to tell you that I really couldn’t have done all of that without your help. And in fact, all of the help that you helped me with when we were younger is still helping me today. I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years I never forgot you…ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends. Thanks for listening…you look great by the way! Whatever it is you’re doing it’s working!” Well there you go, feeling nostalgic yet? I was not expecting that! It’s such a short message, and yet what he had to say was so powerful and has so much to teach us! I got to my coffee shop to start working on my podcast among other things, and I asked the baristas at Dry Stack Coffee (a new shop here in Danville) if they had seen the video yet? All of them had, and responded in kind with how powerful the message was about investing in people. That’s when Brennan, the coffee guru as I call him, spoke up with a very appropriate proverb in response. He said, “A wise person knows they’ll never enjoy the shade of the seeds they plant.” Wow. What a powerful teaching to remind us how important it is to invest in people, even if you never see the positive outcomes of the influence that you had over them in the years to come. I think that all of us can look back in our lives when we talk about this and immediately someone comes to mind of someone that invested in you and has such a profound impact on your life. Maybe it’s someone that you lost touch with, someone you haven’t seen in a long time, but the fact remains that if it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t be where you’re at today. I know for me there are so many people that pop up into my mind, guys like Scott Hafer, Andy Cantrell, or even an old instructor Master Barry Lyon. The lessons I learned from them have helped to mold and shape me into who I am today, and though most of them have not seen it, I owe so much to them and I will never forget them. 

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to make fellow disciples among all nations. This is what is called the great commission, which we read in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This process of making disciples and teaching them to observe all the Jesus did and taught takes significant investment. If our only interaction with other believers is on Sunday’s at collective worship or the occasional mid-week Bible study, we will not be able to develop disciples like we should. When you consider the relationship that Jesus had with his apostles and how he developed them, he made a significant investment in them. He invested his time, his energy, his resources, the Lord was constantly with his disciples and molding them. And yet, it took them years to become the bold, strong, confident pillars of the church that we read about in the book of Acts. Jesus while he was on this earth would never see all that the apostles would become, and yet they would not be the strong men that started the church built upon Christ if it were not for his years of influence over them. Consider the way that the very first Christians invested in each other in Acts 2:42-47, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Look at the way these individuals were involved in each other’s lives and invested in each other significantly. They were together daily studying, they were hospitable and opened up their homes to each other, they even sold property or possessions to contribute to each others needs. But then, not long after, the church would be ravaged with persecution and scattered from Jerusalem in Acts 8. There were many of them that likely never saw each other again…and yet as they were scattered they went about spreading the word. Many of them probably went on to become elders or pillars in their community, and none of that would have been possible without the way that others loved them and invested in them when they first became Christians. So what about you? Are you taking the time to be a mentor and invest in others in your life? It is not easy to do it right, it will take a significant amount of your time, resources, patience, and energy to properly devote yourself to developing others. You also may never see the fruit of your labor…but don’t for a second think that you didn’t make a difference. Your influence and love for someone now may help to mold them into becoming the best version of themselves in the years down the road. Let’s get back to making disciples, and that starts by investing in people. 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Fridays, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and video sessions. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.