Before we talk about mentorship, I first need to ask: what are your priorities? If we have a vision of where we want to go, we can then see where we need guidance. Then and only then can we find a mentor for each aspect of our life that we have consciously decided to value - if we don't seek this mentorship, how do we expect to find our way? Yes we can try to bumble along and try to figure out the way on our own, but it is much easier to identify someone who has demonstrated that they know the way and say to ourself - "yes, I want to be like that person because they have already been there and can show me how to get there."
The next point is maybe a little obvious but, unfortunately, often missed: make sure the guidance you are getting from your mentor is in his or her area of expertise. If we want to grow spiritually we need a spiritual mentor. If we want to grow professionally we need a work mentor. Some people may be multi-talented and serve as mentors in multiple facets of your life, but if someone has no experience with something why would you take their advice about it? You wouldn't go to a mechanic for legal advice any more than you would you go to a lawyer for an oil change. We can very easily get caught up idolizing our mentors and just assuming that because we hold them in such high regard that they must be infallible. We may look at work mentors as role models for life, failing to recognize their personal shortcomings as red flags to warn us against doing everything in our lives just like them. Similarly, our spiritual mentors should be guiding us spiritually, not telling us what pair of shoes to buy and what hat makes our head look too big. If you get bad advice or you go astray following a mirage, this may be a result of having a good mentor but for the wrong problem.
So what if we do have the right mentor for the right problem, but we still get steered in the wrong direction? This happens all the time and is simply a function of the fallibility of all human beings. Just as in the previous point we see that no individual can be perfect in every facet of life, we also know that even in our areas of strength we will often encounter weakness; the only exception to this rule is Christ. He is the only one without blemish because He is the Son of God Himself, showing us an image of perfected mentorship when He says in John 5:19 - "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." In addition, we can look to mentors who are better reflections of Christ than ourselves, who we can imitate as they imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Ultimately, I think our imitation of Christ and our mentors is a reflection of our love for them. With Grace, our love for God and for each other grows with time but will not be perfected until we are perfected at the last trumpet and are able to see God face to face in His Glory (1 Corinthians 13:12). Until then I pray that we first prioritize our life in a way that reflects God's will for us - then and only then can we see how great is the expectation that is set before us and the dire need we have for our mentors. May God give them the patience and wisdom to guide us, and may God give us the commitment and humility to follow them.
The next point is maybe a little obvious but, unfortunately, often missed: make sure the guidance you are getting from your mentor is in his or her area of expertise. If we want to grow spiritually we need a spiritual mentor. If we want to grow professionally we need a work mentor. Some people may be multi-talented and serve as mentors in multiple facets of your life, but if someone has no experience with something why would you take their advice about it? You wouldn't go to a mechanic for legal advice any more than you would you go to a lawyer for an oil change. We can very easily get caught up idolizing our mentors and just assuming that because we hold them in such high regard that they must be infallible. We may look at work mentors as role models for life, failing to recognize their personal shortcomings as red flags to warn us against doing everything in our lives just like them. Similarly, our spiritual mentors should be guiding us spiritually, not telling us what pair of shoes to buy and what hat makes our head look too big. If you get bad advice or you go astray following a mirage, this may be a result of having a good mentor but for the wrong problem.
So what if we do have the right mentor for the right problem, but we still get steered in the wrong direction? This happens all the time and is simply a function of the fallibility of all human beings. Just as in the previous point we see that no individual can be perfect in every facet of life, we also know that even in our areas of strength we will often encounter weakness; the only exception to this rule is Christ. He is the only one without blemish because He is the Son of God Himself, showing us an image of perfected mentorship when He says in John 5:19 - "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." In addition, we can look to mentors who are better reflections of Christ than ourselves, who we can imitate as they imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Ultimately, I think our imitation of Christ and our mentors is a reflection of our love for them. With Grace, our love for God and for each other grows with time but will not be perfected until we are perfected at the last trumpet and are able to see God face to face in His Glory (1 Corinthians 13:12). Until then I pray that we first prioritize our life in a way that reflects God's will for us - then and only then can we see how great is the expectation that is set before us and the dire need we have for our mentors. May God give them the patience and wisdom to guide us, and may God give us the commitment and humility to follow them.
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