Paul’s passion concerning the pursuit of Christ is seen in the three ways he describes his relationship to Christ: to know Christ, to gain Christ and to become like Christ. In the pursuit of Christ, we can trace four major drives that motivated Paul.
Paul yearned to participate in Christ’s suffering, to “become like him in His death”. It had to do with the cross. To become like Christ we, like Paul, have to embrace suffering.
Ask the Lord to bring someone into your life whom you can invest time and care in, helping them to grow and mature. You will be amazed as they, having received your guidance, are then willing to do the same for others.
One-on-one interaction is evident in the way Jesus handled the Samaritan woman (John 4), the blind man (John 9), and numerous other accounts. Each individual is important, and Jesus demonstrated this by spending time with each person, one at a time.
Ask God to bring someone into your life, perhaps a peer or an older person who is willing to coach, model and set an example for you. Once we experience the joy of the transforming power of God in our lives, we will seek to influence and mentor others.