Hammer on Anvil '

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).

In my decades of church involvement, I have heard very little about mentoring. That seems strange, given that the Bible is clear that we are to be accountable to one another in the Body of Christ.

Honestly, I think the reason we don't hear much about mentoring is that the majority of people don't WANT to be accountable to anyone else on a personal level. They don't want to check in with someone who is going to ask them how they are doing, for example, in their prayer and devotional life. Or how their battle with pornography is going. Or whether or not they are being good stewards with their finances. We want to show up on Sunday morning with our "goin'-to-church" masks, and not share with anyone else what the rest of our life is like.

A couple of years ago I met a wonderful young woman who asked me to be her mentor. As I grew to know her and love her, I found she was accountable to several people about her comings and goings, because she genuinely wanted to be a godly woman. Though she was barely 30 years old, she had a firm grasp of the truth of Proverbs 11:14: "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."

Since that time, I have been involved in several mentoring relationships, and I am incredulous that I missed out on it for so long! Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." If we don't bare our souls to another on a regular basis, how will we ever grow as human beings, let alone as followers of Christ?

The past couple of years, I have been privileged to watch my husband mentor different men who were part of a life recovery program. These men have overcome various addictions and negative life patterns and their lives are heading in a more positive direction. It is a joy to see them blossom and grow as the result of these mentoring relationships.

Jesus mentored the disciples. Eli mentored Samuel. Elijah mentored Elisha. Paul mentored Titus and Timothy. Mary, when she found out she was pregnant with Jesus, took the initiative and left town to go visit Elizabeth, a woman "full of the Holy Spirit," who spoke truth to her and encouraged her. It is obvious throughout the Bible that these iron-sharpening-iron relationships were the norm -- not the exception. We are not meant to be "lone ranger" Christians. James 5:16 says we are to confess our sins to each other so that we can be healed. And that's precisely what happens in a healthy mentoring relationship.

If you sense there is something missing in your relationship with Jesus, this might very well be the thing. Is your Christianity "me and Jesus" only? Or is there a mature Christian in your life to whom you confess your shortcomings? If you are not currently involved in this type of relationship, I encourage you to ask God who in your circle of relationships might serve as a mentor to you.