"And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses,
commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
2 Timothy 2:2
The Gospel message is generational. The message itself is the same from generation to generation. However, how or whether it is passed down is what is generational. There is a great obligation and responsibility for one generation to pass down what they have learned and been taught to those coming behind them. A verse that I have claimed as my life's challenge is Psalm 71:18 which says, "Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come."
Paul was challenging Timothy in this passage to not fail to do his part in blazing a trail of spiritual legacy. He knew that if one generation did not do their job the results could be devastating. You can see five groups in this passage: 1)me, 2)witnesses, 3)you, 4)faithful men, and 5)others. Everyone in the chain of Biblical instruction must do their part. This is why Jesus Himself told the disciples to not discourage the children from coming. If we do not reach the next generation with the Gospel of Christ, we have doomed the generations that will follow. I have seen the devastating effects first hand. My parents were missionaries in England for several years. If you study the country's history, you will find that most of our nation's spiritual leaders either came from or were influenced by England. There are literally hundreds of men and women that we could list that are known as spiritual giants from this great country. Yet today, less than 10% of the population attends any kind of church. Why? You can trace back the tragic losses during the world wars and see that a generation faded off the scene without being able to instruct the next. To give one illustration of the great loss, the city my parents worked in was Leicester. There was a hall built in this city in honor of the great missionary to India, William Carey. Today William Carey Hall has been used as a Hindu temple. This is a call for us to wake up and realize that this next generation desperately needs to hear the message of Christ. This is a call for us to take young believers and disciple them in the truth. Let us not fail to do our part for fear that the generation after them will not hear of the joy of life in Jesus Christ.
May you be an influence for Christ in someone's life today.
No comments:
Post a Comment