How’s Your Spring Water?

We’ve spent a ton of time talking to church leaders from all over the country about mentoring. The recurring theme is that men who will take the time to invest in younger men are rare. Very rare.

Why is this?

I didn’t set out on a mission to answer this question, but I think I found the answer as I read John 4 this morning and saw two words that I’d overlooked all my life. Jesus is talking to the woman at the well (famous story). He tells her about the “living water” that, once you drink it, you aren’t ever thirsty again.

But here’s what I missed. In verse 14, Jesus says “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Come into authentic relationship with Jesus and something starts bubbling deep inside of you….an exciting, perpetual energy and enthusiasm that keeps on refilling itself for the rest of your life….an enthusiasm and excitement that won’t slow down until you die and go to heaven. As it wells up, it has to come out….you’ll have to worship Him, love Him, serve Him, and to do that the way He told us to, you’ll have to serve others. Loving and serving others taps that spring like nothing else can!

Where I grew up, there was a spring in the woods on the way to the community swimming pool.  When they widened the road; the spring got filled in and the water was piped into a storm drain. Wasted. Useless. Forgotten.

Is that what will happen to your spring? Is it already happening? Have you “widened your road”? Gotten busier and busier, just carrying more traffic? Have you lost the energy you once had for Jesus? Have you forgotten the cross? Have you forgotten how much He loves you? Do you remember how good it feels to serve?….really serve?  That’s digging out that spring; that’s removing the “dirt” that busyness has pushed in.

Serving lets the living water flow free again.

Mentoring is serving.

Question: Who are you mentoring? Who are you investing in for Kingdom purposes?