Enriching the Lives of Others - Encouragement Café - June 7, 2016

Enriching the Lives of Others
By Michelle S. Lazurek

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Hebrews 10:24 NIV

Growing up, my nana was my mentor. Most of my most relished childhood memories include her. In addition to teaching me about life, she also had an incredible hand in my spiritual formation.  

Every week she took me to church where I was introduced to God.  Although my theology has changed quite a bit over the years, she instilled in me the value of consistent church attendance and the importance of being part of a church community.  

As a pastor’s wife and church planter, this love for the church has fueled me and spurred me on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24-25) If it were not for my relationship with my nana, I might not be the same person I am today.

Throughout Scripture, we are commanded to mentor those that are younger in the faith.  But the idea of being a mentor can be a daunting one.  Because my nana had played such a pivotal role in my spiritual upbringing, I understood the importance of paying that forward to others who could also benefit from this.  But knowing isn’t the same as doing.

Here are some common myths I want to dispel about being a mentor:

·      I have to know my bible thoroughly in order to mentor someone else

Will there ever come a time when we know our Bibles well enough to effectively mentor someone?  There will always be things we don’t know about the Bible.  People are looking for an authentic person, not a spiritual know it all.  It is through our admittance that we don’t know it all that shapes us into the true disciples Christ can use.

·      Mentoring takes a lot of time

Depending on how you arrange your meeting times with your mentee you could meet as little as once or twice a month.  The hour that you spend investing in another life can become the most precious years later.

·      We’ll have to do a Bible study when we meet together

My favorite memories of the time spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ do not involve what we learned, but what we did.  I remember eating together, the stories we told, the ways they encouraged me, and the fun activities we shared together.  Mentoring is about creating an experience, not filling someone’s head with more knowledge.

Becoming a mentor can be a scary task.  But when you step out in faith and invest your time and energy into another person, you will enrich others’ lives as my nana enriched mine.

Lord, help us to consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Amen. 

Enjoy reading Dear God, He's Home!: A Woman's Guide to Her Stay-At-Home Man by Janet Thompson

For more encouragement, visit Michelle at michellelazurek.com

© 2014 by Michelle S. Lazurek.  All rights reserved.

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