In January, an acquaintance, now a friend, agreed to mentor me. There was absolutely nothing for her to gain. She refused payment, and I had nothing to offer her. But she dove into the difficult job of teaching me an online platform that I knew nothing about. As a result of her gifted and faithful teaching, I’m able to use Ai to illustrate this blog- a feat I never could have accomplished left to my own devices. Thanks, Michele!  All of us need a hand up at different points in our lives. Are you mentoring someone? I can almost hear you saying, “Well, I don’t have anything to teach anyone else.” Oh, but you do! You may not be intentionally apprenticing someone, but there are eyes watching your example. They notice your attitude, your acts of kindness, your stick-to-itiveness. Your life is influencing others.

King David earnestly desired to build a magnificent Temple for God. But God denied him the honor. Instead, God appointed his son for the task. At this, David could have sulked and been jealous, but instead, he prepared his son for the huge job. He threw himself into gathering materials, skilled craftsmen, and making arrangements.  He lovingly encouraged, urged, commissioned, blessed, and reminded his son of God’s promise to use him to build a place for the people to worship God.

“David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.  But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.  He is the one who will build a house for my Name. . . . “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would.  May the Lord give you discretion and understanding . . . Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. . . Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you. . . Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon.”  1 Chronicles 22:5-12, 14, 17

Being older has made me keenly aware of the need to bring the younger ones along so they can replace me. There are many ways to equip them: being a good example, giving them opportunities to take responsibility, building up their confidence, being alert for teachable moments, and even teaching or apprenticing if they’re willing. Who took you ‘under their wing’ and helped you move forward by their encouragement? For whom can you do the same?

Paul, the church planter in many places in the Middle East and Europe including Ephesus and Corinth, didn’t cling to his position but welcomed others to spread the Good News (even those who were doing it out of competitiveness and envy). Paul encouraged, appreciated, and loved Apollos who was a recent convert, but better public speaker than Paul. Paul never tried to keep him in a lesser position; instead, he always encouraged him to lead.

“After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.  I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.  It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

In preparation for a Thanksgiving play, I’ve been reading the writings of the early governor of the Plimouth colony, William Bradford. Here is an excerpt from “Of Plimouth Plantation” his memoirs of the early days of the first successful English colony in America:

“Lastly, (and which was not least,) a great hope & inward zeall they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way therunto, for the propagating & advancing the gospell of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world; yea, though they should be but even as stepping-stones unto others for the performing of so great a work.” Writing of the Pilgrim’s motivation for settling in the wild New World.

Acknowledging that they were content to be stepping stones for others drew me up short. Am I willing to simply be a ‘stepping stone’? Am I happy to have others surpass me toward a common goal? Do I cling to my accomplishments, desiring recognition, or do I help others gain the knowledge and opportunity to go farther than I did? Do I defend my territory or welcome others who are gifted to take leadership? Am I willing to push others forward knowing at some point they will replace me? Do I delight in seeing others succeed, even if they are succeeding at something I had hoped to succeed in? Am I preparing those younger to become the next leaders? Am I encouraging them and being a good example and teacher?

Let’s keep asking ourselves these questions as we rub shoulders with those who are younger in our families, and in our faith communities. They need our unselfish help.