Most young boys admire and look up to their father as they are growing up. I was no different. I wanted to be just like my father. Grow up to be strong, smart, funny, kind, loving, honest, hard working, a farmer, and many other things just like my father as I got older. As a little boy, a teenager, a young man, and even today, I look to my father as one to emulate.
I know that I was extremely blessed to have the loving, kind parents that mentored me. We all need mentors in our lives. Whether it be parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, other relatives, friends, neighbors, etc., we all need people in our lives that we can look up to. Jeff Jenkins recently said in a leadership training at South Green St., “Everyone needs at least 1 Barnabas, 1 Paul, and 1 Timothy in their life.” That phrase has stuck with me over the last couple of months since hearing it.
One Barnabas— As humans we all love to be encouraged. Encouragement from others is sometimes the only thing that gets us through difficult times. Barnabas was a man of encouragement. We need to have in our life someone that is reaching out to encourage and uplift others. They are selfless and always looking to others’ needs before their own.
One Paul— We need someone in our lives that has been through it before. Someone that we can go to when we need advice, guidance, or help with a problem/struggle that we are experiencing. Paul was a mentor to Timothy. Paul had seen it and experienced it. He was willing to lend advice and council to Timothy as Timothy was growing in the ministry.
One Timothy—As was just mentioned, Timothy was advised by Paul while he was a young man doing the work of the Lord. He was willing to listen and take the advice of Paul and use it. We need someone in our lives that challenges us to be the example that we should be. We need to have someone in our lives that we are looking to help and make a difference in their life.
Who is your Barnabas? Who is your Paul? Who is your Timothy?
