Spirit & Truth # 270
“Peter, Paul, and Many”
By Greg Smith
 |
| Telemachus and Mentor |
In Greek mythology, Mentor
was the caretaker of prince Telemachus, son of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. While Odysseus was away fighting the Trojan
war, Mentor served as the prince’s
teacher, guide, friend, and protector.
Today, mentors fulfill a similar role, providing professional tutelage
and serving as informal role models for their “mentees.” For the past two weeks, we’ve looked at faith
partnerships where spiritual leaders passed on their wisdom to their students,
who in turn became leaders themselves.
I’ve challenged you to consider who your teachers may be, who your peers
may be, and who may be the students to whom you can pass on your wisdom.
In the Old Testament, Moses benefited
from the support of seniors like Jethro and Jochebed. He enjoyed the companionship of his wife
Zipporah and his siblings Aaron and Miriam.
He passed on his faith to Caleb and Joshua. In the New Testament we have the example of the
apostle Paul. Like Moses, Paul wasn’t a
genius in his own right, but profited from the input of scores of people around
him who contributed to his ministry and made him who he was.
Paul was called to be a minister—but
who ministered to Paul’s needs? After
his conversion to Christ, Ananias was the first furtive Christian to care for
the former persecutor of the church.[i] Having received Christ’s call to ministry,
Paul went to Arabia for three years, then returned to
receive fifteen important days of intense training from Peter and James the
brother of Jesus.[ii] Peter continued to influence Paul’s
ministry. At times they agreed with each
other[iii]
but at other times they disagreed.[iv] Barnabas (whose name means “Son of
Encouragement” took Paul under his wing when Paul was new to the ministry.[v] Though Barnabas was the senior Christian in
their missionary team, Barnabas allowed Paul to be the chief speaker[vi],
ostensibly because Paul was in training.
Paul and Barnabas didn’t always see eye to eye,[vii]
but total agreement is never necessary for one person to learn from another. Much more could be said about other
contributors like Priscilla and Aquilla, Epaphroditus, Phoebe, Chloe, Erastus,
and many others, without whom Paul could never have accomplished what he did.
Of course, no teacher is complete
without his or her disciples. Paul fed
into the lives of young and rising church leaders like Titus and Timothy. Paul’s letters of encouragement to these
young men are today a support to all who are young in ministry[viii]. He encourages them to preach God’s word
without reservation, whether it’s popular or not. He reminds them of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, which are available to them for ministry. He teaches them both how to rebuke and
encourage God’s people. Paul made sure
that his legacy went on, so that long after his life’s journey was over his
work would continue.
If you are a Christian, then most
likely you are somewhere in the continuum from student, to peer, to
teacher. Perhaps you are a bit of all
three, taking on different roles with different relationships. I hope you will take seriously your role as a
disciple, as a friend, and as a godly influence to those around you. Seriously consider who God has brought into
your life, to partner with in faith and to strengthen by Christ’s love.
No comments:
Post a Comment