Lately I’ve been amazed at the opportunities to invest in the next generation – both believers and nonbelievers. If we had the time, we could be coaching and mentoring people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s full-time. Full-time mentoring is not God’s plan for Pam and me right now, as I’m currently serving as U.S. president of The Navigators, so we take the opportunity to build into the lives of a few men and women God has placed in our paths.
We live in a world where many people are in need of help in every area of life. Jesus, who lived in our world, lived His life focused on two primary purposes:
- Giving us eternal life
- He was God in the flesh and lived for us, and died that we might have eternal life.
- He was God dwelling on Earth as a human being. Incredible! He came to Earth to live a sinless life, to model godly living and to die a horrible death as a ransom, to pay for our sin, and to reserve eternal life for all who believe in Him.
John, one of Jesus’ closest followers put it this way,
The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish (John 1:14 MSG)
- Creating mentors who reflect God’s glory
- Jesus mentored a small group of men and women, whom He trusted would go on to live a life that reflects God’s goodness, and who would mentor others in the ways of Jesus.
Another of Jesus’ followers, Matthew, told an account of Jesus’ life that shows us His heart for people: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36 NIV).
Jesus’ passion for the people in our world was not only the motive behind His presence among us and His death on a cross, it was His motive for teaching, modeling, loving, and training a select group of men and women who were His disciples.
The Navigators® has a primary focus––helping people grow as followers of Jesus and then helping them help others (mentor/disciple) in the ways of Jesus. Pretty cool, huh?
Have you ever had someone walk with you and help you learn to grow as a follower of Jesus Christ? If not, maybe you can find someone a “step ahead” of you and ask them to help you.
Are you currently helping someone else grow as a follower of Christ?