In an article on mentoring, Hannah Schell explains that mentors need to support, challenge, and inspire, but āfirst, and perhaps foremost, a good mentor sees you. . . . Recognition, not in terms of awards or publicity but in the sense of simply ābeing seen,ā is a basic human need.ā People need to be recognized, known, and believed in.
In the New Testament, Barnabas, whose name means āSon of Encouragement,ā had a knack for āseeingā people around him. In Acts 9, he was willing to give Saul a chance when the other disciples āwere all afraid of himā (v. 26). Saul (also called Paul; 13:9) had a history of persecuting believers in Jesus (8:3), so they didnāt think āhe really was a discipleā (9:26).
Later, Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over whether to take Mark with them to āvisit the believers in all the towns where [theyād] preachedā (15:36). Paul didnāt think it was wise to bring Mark along because heād deserted them earlier. Interestingly, Paul later asked for Markās assistance: āGet Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministryā (2 Timothy 4:11).
Barnabas took time to āseeā both Paul and Mark. Perhaps weāre in Barnabasā position to recognize potential in another person or weāre that individual in need of a spiritual mentor. May we ask God to lead us to those we can encourage and those who will encourage us.
