1 of 1

Key Bible Verse: Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God (Exodus 24:13). Bonus Reading: Numbers 27:18-23

I was about nine or ten. It was my first time on skis, and we were at the top of the hill. My dad set me and my small skis between his legs. "Just lean against me," he said, "and you feel everything I do with my weight." And down the hill we went pressed tightly together as I slowly began to imitate all of his moves. We made several runs like that, and each time he would push me farther from himself so that I could increase in my independence. And then the moment came when he simply pushed me out ahead and said, "Go ahead, son, you're on your own."

Moses had a ski instructor relationship with Joshua. They spent years together, and then it came to an end. God spoke to Moses and said, "Commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead his people across [the river] and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see" (Deut. 3:28). And that was the moment when the mentor pushed his protege out in front and, in effect, said: "Go ahead; you're on your own."

—Gordon MacDonald in When Men Think Private Thoughts

• Pray that God would lead you into a mentoring relationship—as a student or a teacher.

Thought to Apply: Though a great teacher cannot teach what he does not know, he can sure enough inspire students to learn what he doesn't know. A great teacher has always been measured by the number of his students who have surpassed him.

— DON ROBINSONS (social scientist, educator)

Credits: Adapted from— Wednesday: When Men Think Private Thoughts (Nelson, 1996)

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.

To sign up for a risk-free trial issue of Men of Integrity click here.

To order multiple copies of Men of Integrity for your men's group, click here.

 1 of 1

share this page

Prayer for the Week

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter (All fields required)    RSS Feed   RSS Help