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Greatness Births Greatness: The Impact of a Mentor.
by ETURUVIE EREBOR A mentor is an experienced and trusted adviser, a counsellor or a guide and a requirement for anyone seeking greatness. If you really want to be great you must deliberately seek out a man or woman who is already where you want to be and bring yourself into a mentor / mentee relationship with them, giving them permission to guide you into the same place of success that they already occupy. This is one path to greatness that many overlook out of ignorance but, for those who understand how it works, it has delivers numerous rewards. A group of four hundred men joined themselves to David at the time he was running away from Saul. The Bible referred to them as men who were worthless, in debt and discontent; in other words they were failures or nonentities, if you like. However, as David began to mentor them in no time they were transformed, and a few chapters later, the Bible referred to the same men thus, "These be the mighty men that David had." They moved from worthless men to mighty men because of the presence of a mentor (who was himself a mighty man) in their lives. As I studied the accomplishments of these mighty men of David, I realised that like their mentor, David, these men also killed giants, as a matter of fact on a certain day in the battlefield, a giant, Ishbi-benob, would have killed David but for the swift intervention of the mighty men. They became fierce warriors, and a force to be reckoned with, men who initially were nobodies. Another example of the impact of a mentor on a life is the story of Joshua. As the children of Israel journeyed from Egypt towards the land of Canaan, Joshua brought himself into proximity with Moses and from that point Moses mentored him. Everywhere Moses went, Joshua was present and eventually the years of mentoring paid off because at the demise of Moses, Joshua became the natural choice for his replacement and he was able to take over as leader and succeed because he had learnt how to lead the children of Israel through years of being mentored by Moses. Simon Peter was mentored by Jesus for a space of three and a half years so when Jesus died Peter naturally took over as the head of the apostles and early church and what seemed like fruitless years of mentorship with his master soon began to pay off as he did greater things than Jesus had done. For instance, Peter did not have to lay hands on sick people for them to be healed as Jesus had done; as he walked past in the streets, his shadow fell on them and they were healed. His first message brought salvation to three thousand souls. These feats were not recorded in the ministry of Jesus but Peter accomplished them because he was mentored by Jesus. Finally, there is Elisha who came into proximity with Elijah for the purpose of being mentored. He also was made great through mentorship. At the translation of Elijah, Elisha received a double portion of Elijah's spirit so that in his life time, he doubled the miracles of Elijah. Like Peter and Joshua, Elisha stepped into his mentor's shoes instantly and by reason of years of mentorship the shoes were a perfect fit. As he crossed the Jordan alone on his return journey following his master's departure he was able to use the mantle Elijah left behind and command the river to part exuding the same ease and confidence displayed by Elijah earlier on. The sons of the prophets who watched him from afar knew without any doubt that he was in Elijah's stead and they bowed themselves to the ground before him. The lives of the aforementioned Bible characters reveal the impact of a mentor on the destiny of any individual. They all became great men because they were mentored by great men. It is interesting to note that Peter, Joshua and Elisha not only became great men but, they stepped into the shoes of their great mentors and did greater things. If you desire to be great, seek out a great man or woman to mentor you. You will eventually become like your mentor because greatness births greatness. Eturuvie Erebor. Eturuvie Erebor (AKA Gabriella) is a writer, speaker, trainer and coach with a strong passion to transform the lives of women and youth not only in her native country, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, where she was born, but all across the world. She has spoken to women and youth groups in churches, Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |