I am not content to wait on the sidelines to watch others struggle with the things I went through as a young Christian. I welcome the opportunity to disciple younger Christians who are excited about their newfound faith and salvation. As an older Christian, and indicated by the teachings of Christ recorded in the passage of Luke quoted above, I have a scriptural obligation to be a mentor to younger Christians and to teach them about the things of God. The apostle Paul understood the obligation for older Christians to mentor younger Christians when he wrote, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). Notice the spirit-led outline that has to happen to be successful in mentoring – we must know the scriptures, we must teach in a way that uplifts and focuses on Christ, and we must realize that it is by grace we are able to teach others.
Within Paul’s letter to Titus (Titus 2:1-8) there is also a sensitivity that needs to exist within our efforts to mentor. As a Christian, I should be able and feel at ease teaching the basics of our faith to anyone; prayer, church attendance, tithing, baptism, personal evangelism, and just about anything else dealing with the generalities of our Christian walk, I should be ready to share what I have learned from scripture with younger Christians. However, when it comes to the mentoring of younger Christians and the specific roles they have within the family, obedience to the leadings of the Holy Spirit must be followed – as a man and a husband, I have no right to teach a young woman what her Christian role is within the home, but it is the obligation of older Christian women and mothers within the church. God has placed within me the responsibilities of mentoring younger men in their roles as men of the church, husbands, and fathers. How can I mentor a young woman how to be a good wife and mother when, as an older Christian man, I have no understanding of the temptations, the pressures, or the emotions of being a wife and mother? Sure, I can teach the biblically defined roles, but I would lack the needed compassion that comes from experience and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Not only does God call older Christians to mentor younger Christians based on the generalities of our Christian faith, our gender and roles within the family, He also calls us to mentor younger Christians according to our calling to serve within the local church. Look at the example left for us in scripture as recorded by the apostle Paul who wrote to Titus, To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee (Titus 1:4-5.) and to Timothy, Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord… This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme (I Timothy 1:2, 1:18-20). In both cases, Paul, a missionary, mentored both men in their faith and in their callings to serve as pastors of local New Testament churches. He encouraged both men to stand strong in their faith, not to back down from sin, and Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle (II Thessalonians 2:15).
Are you a Sunday School teacher who has served in that position for a while? Mentor the younger and more inexperienced Sunday School teachers. Are you an older deacon of a church and have served in that place of great honor and respect for a while? Mentor the newer deacons. It goes for any role within the local church that serves to support the ministry such as nursery workers, Children’s church workers, bus route workers, and choir members. When we purpose in our hearts to be ready and available to others, they will seek our counsel. Looking back at the email sent out at the college, the program was never designed under the pretext of “what if no one uses these services offered…” but “if even one student gets the help they need, then its worth it…” As an older Christian, I recognize the potter’s house that the Lord took me to this morning and I stand ready to not only commit this lesson to memory, but to approach it with the understanding and the readiness to serve that God has placed before each of us.
