The word protégé means: one who
is protected,
trained, or guided by an influential person (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary).
"A question is the catalyst for
change. When you stop asking questions, you stop advancing and
eventually end up in decline."
Real
success
is
not just
finding a replacement.
It is creating a path that ensures your
successor
will even do greater than you did. Any other result is a form of
failure.
|
God's intent was that Adam (in the unblemished
state) multiply a reflection of himself,
which
was an accurate
representation of God. This means there would have been a
multitude
of accurate representatives in the earth. Look at what men have
been able
to accomplish down through the centuries in the fallen
state. Imagine if man had never sinned!
There is something here that we must catch. When
you play
the role of a mentor or father figure to someone, you are initiating a
multiplication factor; you act as a forerunner. Something that you have
is multiplied in
something that
someone else becomes and does with his or her life. If only potential
mentors saw this! We can successfully live beyond our own generation by
the effects we
have on
our protégés (those we mentor).
In the book,The Millionaire Mind by Dr.Thomas
J.Stanley, he writes about a true
story that is
both fascinating yet demonstrates the forerunner principle with
irrefutable clarity. He writes about two fighter pilots that were
distinguished
during the Second World War:
Both of the
pilots who "did it differently" were
more than aces (see Raymond F. Toliverand
Trevor J.
Constable,The Blond Knight of Germany [Blue Ridge Summit,
PA:
Aero Books, 1970]). One, Major Erich Hartmann, is known in military
literature
as the Ace of Aces. He had 352 confirmed in-air victories. The other
pilot who
had the same unique strategy was Sergeant "Paule"Rossmann,
Hartmann's mentor. He himself had more
than 80
victories.
It was Rossmann who
invented the
approach that ultimately led to Hartmann's extraordinary success. Early
in his
career, Rossmann suffered an injury to his
arm that
never healed, and he was unable to dogfight. In a typical dogfight,
victory
goes to those with superior physical strength. Rossmann knew
he could never survive this kind of battle, so he developed a
compensating
technique. Substituting a much more calculating method for the macho dogfighting strategy, he carefully planned each
and every
attack. He spent much more time analyzing various targets of
opportunity than
actually firing bullets at his quarry. He attacked only when he was in
the best
possible position to win. Then he would focus all of his resources at
the ideal
target----the one that would give him the maximum return on his
investment.
Hartmann credits
Rossmann's approach,
the "see
and decide prior to firing" method,
with his own success. It also
explains how Hartmann survived
1,425 combat
missions, yet he was never even wounded.
Almost
everywhere Hartmann is revered today in the annals of history, his
mentor, Rossmann, will also be remembered
as
a noted contributor to
Hartmann's distinguished successful in-air victories.
-
John the Baptist was forerunner
to Jesus, and then Jesus
establishes His Church.
- Jesus created
a path for His Church; hence, He
promised
that His Church would do greater works than He did. (John 14:12). When
we do greater works than He did, He approves! A mentor cannot be
insecure
about the success of his protégé.
- Our leaders are like forerunners to us and we become leaders
who magnify what we are taught. What is entrusted to us
must be
multiplied not just maintained. We were designed to be multipliers, not
just
managers!
In some sense, a
father is expected to produce an offspring
with greater contributions to the world. Not to do so, or not create a
path
where this can occur, is a form of failure. Unfortunately, many live without the thought of
their own legacies ever crossing their minds.
Elijah,
the prophet was anointed; Elisha,
his protégé, was doubly
anointed.
The word protégé means: one who is protected,
trained, or guided by an
influential person. (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary)
In Matthew 25
verse 14-28 the Master was enraged that one
of his servants hid his talent. He expected to see increase! Why?
The reason is, in the kingdom of God things ought to be on the
increase! Jesus always told parables that enlightened us about how to
think like a man or woman of the kingdom.
Principle:The
lesser
is blessed
by the greater (Hebrews 7:7). And to be blessed is to be
empowered
to succeed.
This means you don't degenerate into less than
you started
out with. Neither do you simply maintain what you have been
entrusted
with. Instead, you excel beyond your starting point.
The results I produce should be easier and
better than that
of my forerunner. That is so, because, we stand on the shoulders of our
forerunners.
Fathers are supposed to deposit into their
children. Children
ideally magnify what they have been taught.
The four lepers in 2 Kings 7:3-20 were
instrumental in the
fulfillment of prophecy (see 2 Kings 7:1). Yet, everything that was set
in
motion started with a question: WHY? There was famine in besieged Samaria. The
lepers asked
themselves a very vital question: why
stay here until we die?
2 Kings 7:3 (NIV).
It was a question that
would determine
whether or not they were motivated to do something about a circumstance
of serious consequence or rather, merely entertain the status quo.
This primal question ignited in them a quest for change. A question is
the catalyst for change. When you stop asking questions, you stop
advancing and eventually end up in decline.
The lepers went to the enemy's camp where God
had
supernaturally provided abundance of food. They ate and drank till
they
were satisfied. It all started out with them wanting their own
needs
met; but the story does not conclude there. They decided to think
beyond their
own needs. The provision they received, became Israel's
supply. They were
forerunners to the abundance later enjoyed by all!
The result: What comes after must have a greater
effect
than what preceded it: quantitatively and qualitatively.It is a
multiplying effect! This is the principle of the forerunner.
While
it is true that there is no abiding success without a
successor, real success
is
not just
finding a replacement. It is creating a path that ensures your
successor
will even do greater than you did. Any other result is a form of
failure.
|
