Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere in the middle of... Well, you know how the rest of that goes. Many times we hear that catchy little cliché from someone, who is obviously more in the know than you are, and they're telling you about all the things you've been missing, just like you've been living in a cave. But, just to set the record straight, sometimes, cave life might not be so bad.
Not so bad! Are you kidding?
Looking in scripture, I find that there are only two possible reasons why someone might be in a cave. The first reason, as in the case of Sarah, or Abraham, or even Lazarus, you might be in the cave because you're dead. In other words, you have no life, and no potential for growth, and if that is the case, it could be bad. However, the other possibility is that you're like Lot, or David, or one of the prophets. You're in a cave, sheltered in other words, because you're weak, and the Lord is protecting you. There's a battle going on outside, and for the short term, God has you sheltered in a cave, and there you'll stay, until the time is right, and the Lord calls you out, fully rested and fully equipped; ready to do battle.
So who could benefit from the shelter of the cave?
Children! They're weak, and they need protecting; they are not ready to face the wiles of the devil alone. They need to be sheltered; they need the protection of the Lord's cave. You see, unless you've been living in a cave somewhere in the middle of, well... somewhere, you would know that there's a war going on. No, I'm not talking about the war on terror, or the war in Iraq or even the war over the border. I'm talking about the war for the hearts and minds of our children; our future spiritual and political leaders. It's a war that's waged day in and day out through the public school systems in this country. While we're busy teaching our children the ways of God, the enemy is teaching them the ways of the world. They are constantly being bombarded with mixed signals; alternate lifestyles, evolutionary ideas and humanistic solutions to their every day problems, and most of them are not equipped to handle it. They are being molded into the image of the world, and not in the image of Christ, and if you think you can counter this with a couple of hours of Sunday School and church a week and maybe a Bible story at bed time, then you're only fooling yourself. We have to stop this casual approach to training our children and make a deliberately Christian effort to train them up in the way they should go. God's way!
So what can we do? How can we make a difference in the lives of our children? Well, as church leaders, we can encourage parents to become directly involved in the education process. Help them to see the urgency of the situation and encourage them to take drastic measures; measures like home school, church school, or private Christian school. Rally the congregational troops and get them excited about Christian educational alternatives that really glorify God! I'm sorry; public schools just cannot do that. It is against the law! We also need to help parents find the resources they need to actively train their children in the ways of the Lord. Solid Bible based resources!
Yeah, there are a lot of things we can begin to do that will help, and some will be better than others. But one thing is for sure, if we do nothing, like the Israelites in Judges chapter 2, we just might lose the next generation. To quote George Barna: "The enemy has a plan for your children - do you?" Let's start making plans today, and then put them into action!
(I wrote this about a year ago, and found it, touched it up and thought it was worth posting.)
Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough
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