Many of the traditions or situations that we organize can cause young people to think that they are second-rate citizens. Whether it’s the “kids table” at Thanksgiving dinner or the youth section at the football game or even youth swim in the neighborhood pool. Young people can begin to think that they are being pushed aside and made to feel useless by the older generation.
I remember those years of being a youth myself, my music preference or the way I communicate or even some of the crazy fads earned me a hour long unsolicited speech many times. I am sure you’ve earned that same talk sometime in your life. It starts something like this, “when I was your age we” or “I walked up hill in a foot of
The enemy is more convinced than many believers, that our greatest potential is our young people. (tweet)
snow to go to school”. There is such a generation gap that if misinterpreted young people can feel that they are not appreciated or needed. But God thinks otherwise!
Reading young Jeremiah’s calling, in the book that bears his own name, we read in Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” God lets this young man who is probably in his teens, know that there’s a specific plan for his life. The creator of the universe knew him before he was born! This incredible visitation doesn’t stop there, but goes on to command and commission this young man to fulfill God’s purpose. Not when he is retired and an empty nester, but right then and now!
The requirement to do great things for God is not that you have to be old and have nothing else to do. But we read in Dan 11:31 that those that know their God and
It’s time to release young people into their God given destiny! (tweet)
are faithful to Him will resist the enemy and do great things for God. Paul exhorts the church in Philippi to grab on to the reason that God has laid hold of you in Phil 3:12. Paul doesn’t give any age requirements to them at all. On the contrary in his letter to young Timothy he says in 1 Tim 4:12, 14, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers… Do not neglect the gift that is in you”. God has a huge plan for young people! Young people are not so tide down and entangled with debt, raising families and building careers. Not that those things are wrong by any sense of the imaginations. It’s just that, to often, as we get older and assume more responsibilities we loose flexibility and time to be whole heartily used by God.
The enemy is more convinced than many believers are of the great potential in our young people. The communist philosophy says, …if you can win the youth you can win a generation. The world will always have a larger youth group than the church because they spare no expense for it. With the Coming of computers and web based learning, children leave behind toys at younger and younger age. Many major toy companies have now lowered their target market to much younger ages to combat the KOGY age (kids growing older younger).
Lets embrace our biggest resource that we have in the church. Our young people! It’s time to release them into their God given destiny! The older and the younger generations need to work together hand in hand to accomplishing God’s plan in the earth. We need each other!
Recently, at a local park I over heard a mother question her child and his friends if they were playing nice? Those words captured my thoughts back to a childhood memory of my own. Where my father had to sit my brother and I down after supper and had one of “Those” talks. My father had been concerned by what he had seen earlier that day when my older brother’s friends had been making fun of me in a derogative way with out any objection from my brother. My father with a tone of seriousness told us that there is never a time for family to side against one another. My father went on to say at all cost we should stick together and not side against each other. I know he was emphasizing the importance of a family bond. Many times we see this same scenario with the different age groups or even different generations. We forget we’re family and allow our differences to bring a collision of generations. It’s not a bad thing to think differently or have different strong or weak points. We must see the value of God’s gifts in each person. In 1 Kings 12, We see a tragic story where this type of limited thinking brought a great disastrous result. It was at the time of transition from the great king Solomon to his son Rehoboam now becoming King. It says in verse four that a representing group from the people came to the new young king asking, “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” Israel had gone through an incredible generation of building and prosperity under the former king. The people didn’t want to rebel but wanted to enjoy life for a while. It was a reasonable request don’t you think? King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisors of the former regime. These men had been a crucial part of the success and would surely know what to do. Their advice and counsel in verse 7 saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today… and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever” was abruptly rejected! The king then went to his childhood friends and peers and asked them what they would advise. Now these where probably friends that the king had played army with and chased girls and even boasted on what they would do when they grew up? We read their shockingly different advice in 1 Kings 12:11, where they tell the king to say, “now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!'” It was an answer of arrogance and immaturity, yet the young king agreed with it. It was a collision of two generations that had long lasting results of epic proportions! The people were devastated and offended choosing to not follow the new king. This unwillingness to blend the thinking of two different generations caused a wall and great division. Verse 16 – 21 tells lets us know ten out of twelve tribes defected from king Rehoboam and chose their own likeminded king. In the next chapter we see this king leads this whole group astray from God. When the generations don’t “Play Nice” and value God’s gifting’s in each other it will lead people away from God!
Bill Virgin Blog - Leave room for Cream 