Shepherding Our Next Generation

And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I command you today, shall be upon your heart; And you shall repeat them to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you journey on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up; (Deuteronomy 6:5-7, RecVer)

The command of Jehovah God is to love Him with all our being. The command of Jehovah further is to repeat the command of God to our children. Yes, we must love the Lord. Much more, we must be a pattern to our children that they can love God even as we do, even more than we do. The responsibility of raising the children is not in the hands of the church in general, but each parent must bear this burden. Timothy is a pattern of one who grew up in his home filled with the word of God.

And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15, RecVer)

A good and healthy practice in a family is to repeat the word of God to all our children by having a daily family meeting where the word of God is read and prayers offered together. Daily family prayer life is one key factor in shaping our children's future. This meeting should be interesting to the children. The focus of this meeting is on the children. Everything should be done with love and the meeting should lovingly attract the children. Nothing should be forced on them to join the meeting. It should be done with love and the children should be happy and joyful to join the meeting willingly. Otherwise, it will create a negative impact on the children and they may veer away from the truth later in life. On the one hand, a family meeting is necessary. On the other hand, the children should not be forced to attend the meeting. But the parent must take care of the meeting in such a way that it becomes so interesting for the children. And that they all can function in this meeting. 

In our family life, the Lord has been gracing us to enjoy our daily family prayer time since ehte very beginning of my family life. Now, we have clubbed our family meeting with the Life-study meeting and the church's short corporate prayer at the end. This has been one of the blessings added to our church life and family life this year!

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of Jehovah by doing righteousness and justice, that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken concerning him. (Genesis 18:19, RecVer)

We and our children, and our Children's children should continue to love the Lord and serve the Lord. 

And Israel served Jehovah throughout all the days of Joshua and throughout all the days of the elders whose days extended after Joshua’s and who knew all the work of Jehovah that He had done for Israel. (Joshua 24:31, RecVer)

But there is also a negative situation that we should be warned of, as revealed in this verse.

And all that generation as well were gathered to their fathers; and another generation, who did not know Jehovah or the work that He had done for Israel, rose up after them. (Judges 2:10, RecVer)

There may be the possibility of losing our next generation to the world. The decline of this age may affect our young ones, especially with the new technologies, selfie for example is a distraction to love and promote the self.  These are the things we have to be careful with our children. As an anti-testimony, we have to show them by example, loving the Lord and not the world.

Now, that the Lord is coming soon, we have to help our children be prepared to meet the Lord. One way is to help them develop a personal relationship with the Lord. We must help them to have a deep and strong spiritual root so that they would not be shallow in their understanding of the truth or in their experiences of life. One thing the Lord has been burdening me with is to shepherd the young ones in my locality to love the Lord more and more, to love the word of God more and more, and to spend time with the Lord more and more, even in fasting and prayer. I have done my best to my family members, and my children to inculcate this habit of daily Bible reading and prayer life. By the Lord's mercy, my children have gradually picked up this burden and habit. The same I have done to the college students. Gradually, I could see a lot of improvement in their personal relationship with the Lord. Time and again, I would repeat this burden to all the young ones. I would follow them up, and encourage them to go on in the Lord. I know, by repeatedly encouraging and showing them with a living pattern, the Lord will impress them and burden them. And one day, they will be established in their spiritual life and be a pattern to others. 

In love, we must also care for their future, academic as well as spiritual future. We must love our children and spend time with them, listen to them, understand their situation, and speak forth Christ with experiences, nurture them, discipline, and admonish them with the goal of letting them know that God blesses us with all things and let learn how to thank the Lord for everything. We should spend time with them to help them have a proper conscience too. Help them learn to confess their sins whenever they commit sins, and repent for their sinful deeds. In this way, they will be preserved by the Lord.

Tonight, in the parent and serving ones meeting of the churches in India for the teenagers and young ones, we have learned and fellowshipped on the above practical points.  May the Lord bless all the serving ones and parents to be a pattern to all the young ones. May the Lord preserve all the young ones to be a generation who love and serve the Lord, even to meet the Lord if the Lord comes back in their generation.