Do the people who know you really know you?

These days we live pretty transparent lives.  We use social media to narrate just about everything about ourselves.  Even outside of technology, we interact with a lot of people.  We let ourselves be known in a hundred different ways every day.  The people who interact with us most frequently could describe our career history and goals, our favorite sports teams and athletes, our favorite movies and actors, our families and friendships, and our politics.  It seems like more and more people are going out of their way to tell the world how they feel about politics.   

For those of use who are Christian, though, here's the question--so what?  We were instructed by Christ to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19).  We were not commissioned to go and make democrats or republicans, fiscal conservatives or social activists, sports enthusiasts or coupon shoppers.  We were called by Jesus Christ to make disciples.  So ask yourself, "how well do the people in my life know what I think about how disciples get made?" 

Here are four questions, I think every established, mature Christian should be able to answer.  More importantly, I believe that mature Christians should verbalize the answers to these four questions often enough that the people who know them best know how they would answer them.  The people who know you best should know your answers to these questions better than they know your politics, career history or goals, hobbies, favorite things and even how your family is doing (gasp).
 
1.  How did you come to have a relationship with Jesus Christ? 
2.  What have been the major moments of growth or change for you in your relationship with Jesus Christ? 
3.  What would you say to someone who asks, "How can I have a relationship with Jesus Christ?"
4.  If a person were to come to faith in Christ and asked you to mentor them in their faith, how would their lives be changed?  What would be the attitudes and practices of faithfulness they would hear you advocate and see you demonstrate most consistently? What does a growing Disciple of Jesus Christ live like according to you?