Who do you think of when you hear the word mentor? For me, it’s Pastor Rich. He saw my potential and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He modeled how to lead by serving in humility and love. As a result, I am now serving God by mentoring others.
The prophet Elijah played a critical role in Elisha’s growth as a leader. Elijah found him plowing a field and invited him to be his protégé after God told him to anoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16, 19). The young mentee watched his mentor perform incredible miracles and obey God no matter what. God used Elijah to prepare Elisha for a lifetime of ministry. Toward the end of Elijah’s life, Elisha had the opportunity to leave. Instead, he chose to renew his commitment to his mentor. Three times Elijah offered to release Elisha from his duties, yet each time he refused, saying, “As surely as the
We all need someone who models what it means to follow Jesus. May God give us godly men and women who help us grow spiritually. And may we too, by the power of His Spirit, invest our lives in others.
Who are mentors that are currently building into you or who have built into your life? Why is it vital for us to mentor others in Jesus?
INSIGHT
An interesting facet of Elijah and Elisha’s journey described in 2 Kings 2:1–6 is that, aside from Bethel, it includes some of the places important to the Israelites’ entrance into the promised land. At Gilgal the children of Israel stopped for their first Passover celebration in the land and for the circumcision of males born in the wilderness (Joshua 5). Jericho was the first major conquest as the people began taking possession of the land (Joshua 6). And the Jordan River was the point where the Israelites entered the land as God miraculously parted the waters (Joshua 3). Crossing this river would have reminded them of the parting of the Red Sea forty years earlier, which had allowed their ancestors to cross from Egypt to freedom and life as a new nation.