One Life – Mentoring parts 2,3 – Marriage and Family
One of the most obvious indications of an intimate relationship with God that we might observe as we evaluate potential mentors are qualities of their marriage and family lives. The family is God’s smallest church unit and individual intimacy with God developed through the disciplines of consistent time in His Word, prayer, and meditation produce and model an understanding and commitment to the application of His ways in marriage and family life. A husband who loves his wife as Christ loves His Church and sets aside his desires to serve her needs and a wife who is an equal but submitting partner, and children that are blossoming but well-behaved are the normal fruit of a godly marriage in most cases. I say in most cases because we can’t put God in a box and in some cases we can be doing most things right but, because we live in a sin-scarred world, they don’t work out as we hope. And, in terms of the marriage relationship, it takes both husband and wife working together in submission to the Lord to provide the best foundation for health in the marriage and success in parenting, and one or the other can opt out. Bad things do happen to good people and rebellious children sometimes make bad choices regardless of a godly environment. So we don’t look for perfect men or women, mates or parents, but those who understand and are pursuing God’s way. For instance, if you are male and looking for a male mentor a quality that stands out is the effort to love his wife as Christ loves His Church. For a married woman a quiet and submissive spirit might be priority. The peace and comfort of a truly godly marriage are usually obvious with not much more than casual observation, but don’t be afraid to ask the “hard question” of a potential mentor, “Tell me, how’s your marriage?” Or, “Tell me about your children? How do you allocate your time with them?” “How’s your quiet time?”
When we think of the macro view of life and our ultimate purpose in being on the planet all of our thoughts begin and end with God, His plan and purpose, and His ways for accomplishing them. In selecting a mentor we need to look for one who best exemplifies and models beh aviors that God has revealed to us as foundational and necessary for success in ultimate terms. Not just short term like career or education, but long-term as in eternal. Our most important relationship is as son or daughter of God and next is that with our spouse and children if we marry. Our best mentors reflect these priorities and a commitment to them over time. The best mentors have been through the good, the bad, and the ugly and are open to share from their lives openly with others to help them learn from their mistakes and to avoid the snares and pitfalls that they have experienced.
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Buck Jacobs, Chairman and Founder of The C12 Group, LLC - Christian CEO and mentor. Buck has an extensive background in successful organizational development based on the principles found in scripture. The motto of the C12 group is "Building great companies for a greater purpose." 
Buck
Kudos on your focus on mentors for our life. The more I live, the more importance I give to the role of mentors in every aspect of our lives. Your blog looks great graphically! Very inviting and comfortable.
I wish we would have more time to have talked in San Antonio. I’m taking various action steps at present based upon two of the Thurs. a.m. sessions, and I’m now going through the slides from all of the presentations. I met with Don Light yesterday, and he said I really missed a great session Sat. on communications. I’ll pick it up from the C12 website. God bless. Steve
Absolutely love your blog! Definitely bookmarking it.
Thanks Greg! Let me know how I do! Great to hear from you.