Training and mentoring

Then Paul said: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” Acts 22:2–3

What does it mean to be trained and mentored in the ways of Jesus? Over the years men and women invested in me by being my mentor.  We steeped in the Scripture, and like the effects of a potent tea bag, Christ colored my heart. We prayed on our knees before the start of the day and walked with our Savior throughout the remainder of the day. My mentor made time for me.

How can we be mentored or how can we train and mentor others? It may be a role model from a distance; however, virtual mentors have their limitations. We only see them at their best and rarely learn how to handle struggles and disappointments. Some others have influenced us through their writings and inspired us by their insightful biographies.

Do you have a seasoned saint up close and personal, one who can pray with you, instruct you, challenge you, encourage you, and give you wisdom for wise decision making? “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge” (Proverbs 5:1–2).

Moreover, mentors alert you to sin crouching at the door of your heart and mind. Perhaps they nearly lost their marriage to avoidance of responsibility and being lured away by adultery’s illusion. They can instruct you in what to do and not to do. Paul, Moses, and David’s murderous mistakes did not disqualify them from mentoring and training others out of their repentant hearts. Brokenness is required to mentor well.

However, it is not enough for us to just enjoy the benefits of mentoring without seeking out men and women to mentor. Jesus told His mentees, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2).

Then these reluctant and unproven disciples of Christ were empowered by the Holy Spirit to become workers for God. Pray to the Lord for a mentor, and He will lead and equip you to be an answered prayer.

“And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2

In the quiet place

Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

Hosea 2:14

When our hearts are sorrowful, it can sometimes feel like we are walking through the wilderness. Yet, if you’ve ever gone hiking, walking through the wilderness can often bring a sense of peace.  

As we walk along the path, there is beauty that surrounds us. Often, those walks bring a sense of calm and serenity. We may need this if our hearts are broken and searching for healing. Instead of the wilderness being a dark place, it can be a place where we find peace, direction, and inspiration.

Quiet places can be energizing for us. We live near a lake that has beautiful walking paths winding through the woods that follow the lake shore. On the days when my heart has been heavy, after walking there, I feel lighter. 

It’s also on those walks where I can hear from the Lord clearly. I can feel His peace surrounding me and without the distractions of other things, He can minister to my heart. Something I may not have previously been able to see or hear becomes more apparent and visible to me. 

As one grieves, there is a dark, lonely, and isolating period of walking in the wilderness. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be Moses as He led the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 long years? 

The wilderness can be a sacred place. God uses these times to teach us things as He takes us toward something better. From a spiritual perspective, being in the wilderness can be a time of renewal or an encounter with God, like Moses and the burning bush.

When we come face-to-face with sorrow and suffering, we can wonder where God is and why He has allowed certain things to happen to us. Or we can see that He will use whatever challenges we face for His good and what He wants to do in our life story.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland” Isaiah 43:19

Love

 We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.       

1 John 4:19-21

Love of God is rooted in our love for others. This is the plain and simple teaching of Scripture, though there is nothing simple about putting it into practice. If our love for God does not include the people He has placed in our lives, John is unambiguous in his condemnation, calling us liars. However difficult it may be, this truth is one that we must contend with, for it lies at the very heart of our ability to live faithful and holy lives.

In many ways, it is easier to love God in isolation. You and I have never seen God, and his perceived distance or absence can leave us distracted and forgetful. On the other hand, that family member who always asks you for money is quite visible. Or, that other family member who boldly embraces a way of life that you believe to be for their harm, they too are far more difficult to forget.

The concrete reality of relationships makes them the unavoidable training ground for love.

If you want to love God, start with your love (or lack of love) for your brother or sister. Who are the people in your life that God is inviting you to be in relationship with, not only when it is easy, but when it is profoundly difficult? What does it mean to love them when you get nothing in return? Are you able to love when they don’t deserve it?

These are the questions we must be willing to ask ourselves, especially if we want to know what it means to love God in real and concrete ways. If you want to grow in your capacity for love and encounter with God, begin with those closest to you. And when that is a profoundly hard thing to do, resist the natural impulse to keep brokenness at arm’s length. God is with you, and he may, in fact, want to use you in a surprising way to communicate his love for one of his children in and through you.