Life Mentor ~ Encourager

Jesus is sometimes misunderstood as a task master.  Do this.  Don't do that.  Listen to Me or you will perish.  My way is the only way.  This misunderstanding makes it hard for people to take time to get to know the 360 degree, multi-sided Jesus.    Whether one is a believer, a fence-sitter, a questioner or a nay-sayer of His claims as the Son of God, a study of Christ's life can enhance not only our own but our interaction with, and therefore the lives of, others.

Jesus as life mentor ~ encourager

encourage (v) to inspire to continue on a chosen course; impart courage or confidence to; embolden; hearten

To encourage someone is to counter the frustration, hopelessness and despair she may be feeling.  Or sometimes it's simply the act of acknowledging that person.  To encourage someone is to say, "You matter.  I see what you are trying to do, or have achieved, or are suffering.  I care about you. You matter."

Jesus was, and still is, the master encourager.  He was so plugged into God that He walked in complete trust of God's loving, sovereign will. 

  Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ...Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you... (Luke 12:22-28)

Jesus was not afraid, ashamed or hesitant about giving encouragement and hope to others.  And the sweet part is He met people where they were at.   

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John 5:5-9)

Now I don't go about healing people's infirmities but I do like to send cards, the old-fashioned kind printed on paper and mailed with a stamp.  Email and texting are good, but receiving a card in the mail says "I took time for you because you are worth it.  I spent time looking for the perfect card, finding the right thing to say, going to the post office because you are worth acknowledging and encouraging and being loved on."


I used to encourage only people I knew very well, then moved on to those who are lesser known to me.  I'm getting bolder.  I've actually gone up to strangers on the street who look distressed or concerned or lost and ask if they are okay.  After they get over their initial shock they are often receptive to my inquiry.  I once actually asked a woman if I could pray for her right there on the sidewalk.  She eagerly accepted and I was secretly shocked that I was so emboldened. But it wasn't me.  It was allowing Christ to do His work through me.  It felt good for both of us, and my unexpected outcome was to be encouraged to encourage others more often.