THE POWER OF MENTORING

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As I look back across my life, I am thankful that I have had any number of people who have mentored me through the years. Whether through my time in the military, my spiritual journey, or just in living life in general, I have not walked alone and have had trusted role models who have showed me the way, both directly and indirectly.

Maybe you can relate.

The truth of the matter is that we don’t have to walk through life alone and we shouldn’t want to. For if we ignore the power that comes from mentoring, we will only scratch the surface of becoming the people we could be, productive people who make a difference in the world around them.

As I think back, I have to start with my parents as they not only taught me how to be a good person and industrious worker but they showed me in the way they lived their lives. We can lead by words but if we don’t lead by example those words are just empty.

Working hand in hand with my parents were my teachers I had through those critical developmental years. They not only educated me but taught me a lot about the importance of applying my knowledge and intelligence in life. And again, those teachers were not just teaching me from a textbook but they were mentoring me and guiding by example.

Overarching my parents and teachers was my pastor, the Reverend Darr Briggs. I owe the man so very much because he always loved and cared for me, taking a special interest in everything I was doing in life. That’s why I have always remembered his name even though it has been well over 30 years since I worshipped in his church and he is now well into retirement. When people counsel, support, and guide you the right way, they leave an indelible stamp on you, a stamp that always brings them to mind by name.

The indelible stamp that Darr left on me was only enhanced and amplified when I met the Reverend Dick Keever who rekindled the flames of my faith after a time of falling and failure and showed me my true potential in Christ Jesus. Dick was an amazing leader in the Lord who had a knack of remembering people’s names. I always marveled over how he could recall people by name with complete accuracy weeks after he met them for the first time. But that was Dick. He had such a passion for people, such a deep value for them that he would cherish them by name which made it easy for him to remember them. I have tried hard to be that good but alas, that is a work in progress, I’m afraid. Maybe one day, I will be as adept as Dick when it came to that.

Dick not only taught me the importance of people but he taught me the importance of organization and a professional approach in church leadership. Dick took his responsibilities in the Lord and to the church ultra-seriously as he should. He never was too busy to turn from any need that presented itself, always on the run it seemed to visit people during the week who were in the hospital or shut in. He worked tirelessly to care for the flock the Lord had provided him and it was fully evident to anyone who knew him. I know that one day when I become a pastor, I want to model myself after his example of caring for people and professionally carrying out the call of the Lord in his daily church work.

I could go on and on but you get the point. I have been richly blessed with people who have mentored me and could not be who I am today without them. Through their respective influences, I have been continuously fashioned toward being the man I should be, all through the power of mentoring.

Solomon touched on this matter in the 17th verse of Proverbs, Chapter 27. Look again at his words:

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

An iron file would be used to sharpen an iron sword or knife, iron on iron. Likewise, our mentors work to sharpen us, person to person. Hopefully, as we mature and grow through the power of the mentoring we receive, we can be seen as a role model by someone, receiving the opportunity to sharpen them just as someone sharpened us and we should be always looking for how the Lord might want to use us that way.

The truth of the matter is that we all have the greatest mentor and role model ever in Jesus. All have access to His life through the Holy Scriptures. All have access to His lead and guidance through the Holy Spirit. He, as He proclaimed Himself to be, is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and no other mentor we will have will exceed His greatness. No one.  

His iron is of the greatest quality, able to sharpen us as no one else can. Indeed, Jesus is the Master Sharpener, able to cut through and cut off the parts of us that need trimmed away so that what is left is a model and reflection of Him. Thus, if anyone sees us as their mentor and role model, they should always frame that by giving Jesus the glory and honor and praise. They can mention you as a person who helped mold them but should then testify that it was Jesus who brought you into their lives. You, as their mentor, were used by Jesus as an instrument of guidance and direction and any power you displayed through that guiding and directing originated with Him and Him alone. Hopefully, the end result is that we all become more and more like the people Jesus longs for us to be, a people who reveal Him to others in all we do.

Wouldn’t you agree that this is an important part of the Gospel and our responsibility to make disciples as Jesus called us to do? Aren’t we to share the good news of Him and the salvation He brings through the forgiveness and reconciliation of sins? Aren’t we to follow Him and be like Him in all that we do?

Of course, all the answers to these questions are a resounding “YES” for at the root of being a Christian is to be like Christ in every way. Allowing Him to reveal the power of mentoring through us is just one step in doing just that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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