Daily Reading for Sunday, Feb. 17: Mentoring

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 NIV

How do you effectively mentor? Read verse 9. Live what you believe, and you’ll mentor others. It really is that simple. Throughout our lives, we will be involved in many types of mentoring relationships—some very intimate, others very casual. Many of us will never know the inspiration we give to someone else simply because we are authentic in our love for God and our desire to live out that faith. In this society, where we are bombarded with false images and exaggerated claims, people are longing for the freshness that a true believer brings. Does this mean we have to be perfect all the time? Yes! But, we can’t be perfect, so we simply have to rest in the grace of God. The bible tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. How true that is. God’s love, exemplified by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, has covered our sins. And so, that same grace that we rely upon to make us righteous and justified before God, we rest in as we live out our faith. We are being perfected—that is, we are allowing ourselves to mature in faith, to be corrected when needed, to be mentored by Godly individuals and the Holy Spirit. And as we allow this process to take place in our lives, we become examples to others. That is what mentoring is all about. We are mentored, we mentor. When we are changed, that sets off a chain reaction in the lives of those who are watching our lives—so that they, too, can be changed. And whatever they have learned or received or heard from us or have seen in us will allow them to walk in the fullness of their faith in God. And that is the greatest success of a mentor.