The Next Generation

Bev and I recently had the privilege of spending time with a young couple married less than five years. They have a young daughter and are struggling to keep on top of things circumstantially and financially. It was one of the most refreshing times not only to see how they were dealing with life and the gospel but to feel the impact on our own marriage.

There is something powerful about Christians working through life together and especially with different generations. We really do need each other spiritually more than we realize.

This is a plea to the next generation.

The way you deal with life in the presence of Jesus is having an impact. Marriages continue to fall apart and believe the lie that there is no hope even with the gospel.

The young father and husband I visited spent time alone with me and we talked about the call of Christ in our lives and homes. He shared first hand how his marriage and parenthood has been used of God to REALLY sanctify him! I could see how he was wrestling not just with "good works" but with the honor of Jesus in his life. It was a joy to watch him care for his little girl and pour out on her a new father's affection. At the same time he manifested a precious love for his wife as he served her that was both convicting and encouraging to me.

This is a plea to the next generation.

Your influence can be eternal. Encourage others in their own pilgrimage as you walk through yours. Others are watching you whether you know it or not. They need to see the joyful struggle of the gospel. I beg you, in Jesus' name, don't take lightly the call of the gospel in your marriage. There is a generation right behind you watching you. (Maybe some of us older ones could be watching and learning too!)

What I saw in this young marriage and family is what I long for in my own. It looks a lot like what the Apostle Paul calls us to as believers, "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Ephesians 5:1,2