Mentoring and discipleship seem like antiquated terms! And yes, you would be correct and for good reason! God intended this intentional connection for a purpose, and we read about it all through the Bible. We sharpen one another, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

This idea of mentorship and discipleship is not a new concept. It’s been around for centuries, woven into the fabric of our faith. We read about many relationships from God’s Word that encourage, teach, edify and provide correction. All are necessary for growth.

Just a few verses that we can lean into right from God’s Word!

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,  and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,  to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3-5)

 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:5-7)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4)

 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)

 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.  Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,  and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. (Titus 2:6-8)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:16-20)

 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (Hebrew 3:12-14)

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation,  your power to all those to come. (Psalm 71:18)

 

We sharpen one another when we are in community, in relationship and on a God-soaked mission!

 

As we see in The Forge, we all have a part to play in this process. Sometimes, we struggle and don’t realize the significance of having others in our lives to disciple, mentor, pray for and with. The main character, a young man with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, is not connecting with his mom, and she is concerned about his path and prayerfully commits his life to the Lord. Through a series of events, he meets a business owner as he is searching for a job. From the first encounter, the older man intuitively knows that the younger man needs a friend and a mentor who intentionally builds into his life. In The Forge, prayer was the foundation, relationships were the fortress, and Christ was the centre. Each one of those pillars made this movie a meaningful and urgent reminder to look around and pour into the lives God has given you. I walked away with renewed enthusiasm for those around me.

I highly recommend this film—or any of the Kendrick Brothers films, actually! Our family has watched them all, and I hope you will, too. Faith-based films are moving into countless families’ hearts and homes. I encourage you to watch The Forge, reflect on its themes of mentorship and discipleship, and consider how you can apply these principles in your own life!

Kendrick Brothers