OF WHOM are we making disciples, anyway?

A reflection on 2 Chronicles 24
Joash became king at a very young age, following the calamitous reign of that devilish shrew Athaliah. Being only 7 years old, he was brought under the tutelage of Jehoiada the high priest – a faithful man, who led the young king to restore the temple. After Jehoiada died, however, Joash’s godliness departed, even to the point of murdering Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son when he prophesied against the wayward king Joash. As long as Jehoiada was around, it appeared that he was “serving God” but really Joash’s god was the high priest himself. Was this the priest’s fault? Maybe. The warning is that we must recognize and test the souls we care for to see whether the fruits are there. What is the character exhibited when all restraining influences have been removed? Joash was out to please Jehoiada and not God. We may be making disciples, sure, but all too often we make disciples of ourselves, and we are too close to recognize it. One can be too involved, too biased to see the falseness.