Denver Seminary

A ENGAGE 15 MENTORING iStock IMITATORS OF CHRIST Affirming the Mentor at Work Within Us A few years ago, I started intentionally looking for Jesus in the lives of others. When I see Him present, I want to acknowledge Him there. It is enormously affirming for those in whom I see Him, and for me. He is the One we want to find. I confess that I fail more than I succeed, but I persist. More accurately, He persists in me. To a people—not to any one person, but to many—who were looking for what it means to follow Christ, Paul wrote, "Imitate me, as I imitate Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). I understand that in this sense: "When you look at me, look for Jesus. I am looking for Him in you!" That means, in the truest sense, there is only One mentor for us all. Paul clearly saw his life as "Christ in me" (Gal. 2:20). And he looked for Christ in others—that mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27), the one image into which "we are all being transformed" (2 Cor. 3:18). Mentoring thus is an opportunity to affirm His presence. What more do we have to share regarding life and ministry than Jesus? The imitation of Christ, by Jesus' own account, is not our work but our realization. "The words that I speak are not my own, but the Father doing His work in me" (John 14:10). To imitate Jesus is to live as He lived. But that is God's part! God delights to reveal Himself in us—not merely in spite of our flaws, but in relief of them! In others we see Him most clearly. By others, He is most clearly seen in us. As we look for Him, we are able to see each other as we are, in His image and presence, and not merely by our own appearance. "From now on we regard no one according to the flesh" (2 Cor. 5:16). We tend to talk more about Jesus than to Him in conversation and worship. The Psalms typically affirm Him in the third person and second person points of view at once: "The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words" (Ps. 119:57). We need to speak more in the second person—Jesus with us—when we share together. What can be more important to us in mentoring than acknowledging the real presence of Jesus with us? I want to do more of this because I want to see Him more! Often, only afterward does it dawn on me that He was with us, and I did not stop to acknowledge Him. The real joy of mentoring is not about Jesus—it is with Him, affirming that it is really Him at work within us, finding ourselves in His company, in step with Him in the moment. No mere reflection, like the two on the Emmaus Road unknowing yet aware that their hearts were burning within them after their conversation. Might that same "strange warming of the heart" be more than just our insights and shared interests? Is it not more likely to be Him, as we remember that He is really with us, as He promised? ED SCHUPBACH IS A HUSBAND, DAD, AND GRANDPA. HE IS A FRIEND OF DENVER SEMINARY WHO VOLUNTEERS IN THE LIBRARY AND MENTORS STUDENTS IN THE TRAINING AND MENTORING PROGRAM. ED LOVES THE CHURCH AND TEACHES PHILOSOPHY, RELIGIOUS STUDIES, AND MUSIC AT ARAPAHOE AND PIKES PEAK COMMUNITY COLLEGES. HE IS A ROAD BIKER AND HIKER, LEARNING TO SEE THE PRESENCE OF IMMANUEL IN ALL OF THE ABOVE AND BEYOND. RomoloTavani/iStock

• Cover