The Mentor I Need
Let’s say you’re thinking about Jesus being your mentor. Think about just these two traits of Jesus.
- Able to be calm in the presence of accusers (Wouldn’t anyone want that? Not be panicked or stressed?) as he stepped out to tell the guards who came to arrest him that he was the one they were looking for. He protected the disciples, saying to let them go (John 18:8). When I picture his non-anxious presence in that scene, I’m overwhelmed. I want that too.
- Able to travel with twelve drastically different people with opposing political viewpoints and differing vocations. Yet this group didn’t splinter, but stayed together and looked to Jesus to answer their questions. Who can do that? Nobody I know except for Jesus.
Jesus invites all of us to follow him—to be his apprentices and he our mentor. God chose each of us long ago before the foundation of the world as he “settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love” (Ephesians 1:4; NRSV, The Msg). God sees us as family and wants us to be part of the family business to create good in our space (job, neighborhood, people we know–and some of whom we love!). Maybe I already do that, but now and then I need to wake up from playing solitaire and streaming shows. A life with Jesus gives us the things we want most: to be truly seen, to be truly heard, to be truly wanted, and a bit of adventure in the mix.
Jesus is the wisest and most practical of mentors. I still get surprised by how Jesus helps me handle all kinds of situations and make decisions—plumbing problems, what to say to a troubled friend, figuring out the next step in a work project. But it most often when I remember to actually ask him for his input and then pause to be attentive enough to hear what comes to me. Experiment with it! Try it!
Grace and peace,
Jan Johnson
