Preparing For The Future

Preparing for the future has become a way of life for us in so many ways. I am not sure how we would survive without planning at least somewhat. We plan for our retirement and our children’s college, among other things by saving money. We plan for our future in the “working” world by going to an institution of higher learning to get an education. We send our kids to school (or homeschool) with the intent of preparing them to be well-rounded and productive citizens for when they become adults. Preparation for what we know is to come in future years is very important. It is vital!

Perhaps an aspect of our future that we do not give enough consideration to is our spiritual future. Currently on Sunday mornings I am going through a series of lessons designed for our youth. This past Sunday morning I talked about some things our younger generation can start doing now that will hopefully help ensure their faithfulness in 10, 20, or 50 years from now. Obviously there is a lot we as adults can take from this also. Interestingly, these are examples of some things we see in a young Timothy as Paul helped to prepare him for a life serving God. There should be little doubt that these qualities helped ensure Timothy’s own faithfulness as he grew older.

Develop your own faith.
As adults, many of us can look back at our childhood and remember so much of what our parents did for us. We lived off of them. They provided for us and we should always be grateful for that. We should do what we can to instill gratitude into the hearts of our young people. It is God’s design that parents provide for their children. Children live off of parents (1 Timothy 5:8). However, with this said, children cannot live off their parents’ faith. We must develop our own faith. Faith must be sincere and genuine, and it cannot achieve this status if it is not our own. I think it is good when children develop the same faith as parents, especially when that faith involves truth. But it needs to be their own. And as parents, hopefully we are instilling this in them. This seems to be the case with how Timothy developed his own faith through the strength of his family’s faith (2 Timothy 1:5). This is Biblical. But a faith that is not genuine will eventually be a weak one that crumbles in the midst of adversity once a child leaves home. As adults we can help by not getting “up in arms” when our young people have questions. We should encourage that. I can’t think of anything worse than Aaron and Chase growing up claiming faith in God only because mommy and daddy say that He exists. We have too many kids leaving home for college without a clue as to why they believe what they believe.

Study your Bible.
All living things, whether plants, animals, or humans, must be nourished properly in order to grow and flourish. God specifically designed food for our nourishment and growth. He also gave us His living word, the bread of life so that we can be nourished spiritually. It is not uncommon that God uses “spiritual food” as a metaphor to indicate our need for growth. See Matthew 4:3-4; John 6:26-27, 32-35; Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Peter 2:2. God’s word is certainly in great part attributed to young Timothy’s steady growth and spiritual strength (2 Timothy 3:14-15). We cannot learn what God wants of us as His people without giving attention to the guide He provided us. See also 1 Timothy 4:13.

Practice what you preach.
In other words, the gospel is not merely to be taught, but it is to be lived. Jesus taught that Christianity is an active faith. He taught and provided an example of how kingdom living entails getting out and making a difference in the lives of others; teaching people things that really and actually matter; helping them; associating with those that the rest of society will not hang out with; assisting the needy, the sick, the poor, the jailed, the widows. Jesus taught it and He lived it, thus providing for us the perfect example. The Bible also gives us the example of Timothy as a young person who actually cared about others. His love and sincerity is what compelled him to live and teach the gospel. He carried out the same message he taught. See Acts 16:1-3 and Philippians 2:19-21. There should be little doubt that his living out the gospel message is what gave him opportunity to effectively teach it.

Christianity is not merely about facts and rules. It is absurd to think that one will stand before God on judgment day, knowing full well that they did not love and serve others, never tried to impact others for good, and never helped others, yet somehow because they were “sound” on all points of their doctrinal positions that they have an automatic ticket to heaven. This is essentially what the religious elite of Jesus’ day thought and Jesus told His followers “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In other words, life in the kingdom is better than that. The Bible mentions nothing of a doctrinal quiz to be taken at judgment. While doing our best to adhere to pure and healthy doctrine, let us remember that Paul says it is the things we do and practice that will actually determine how we are judged (2 Corinthians 5:10). Service to God, that is, practicing what we preach is what matters.