Luke tells us that Jesus grew in four areas (Luke 2:52):
- Wisdom [mentally, academically]
- Stature [physically, athletically, health]
- Favor with man [socially, kindness, relationships]
- Favor with God [spiritually, knowledge and fear of God, obedience]
Kids today still have a responsibility to grow in each of these areas. Each of them take effort and work. As a culture we work hard to provide growth for our youth, knowing the future depends upon their development. Our schools strive for excellence in academic growth. Our health departments,YMCA’s and athletic organizations provide physical and athletic development. Parents are very concerned and spend thousands of dollars to provide academic and athletic development. We also value the social development of our youth which is incorporated into both academics and athletics.
But who develops the spiritual lives of our children? It is the responsibility of the church! Primarily it is the duty of Christian parents (Eph. 6:1-4). But I am including the work of parents and grandparents when I use the term church. In our culture the school and organizations take care of the academic, athletic, and social development, but they are not generally concerned with the spiritual development. It is not their job, in fact many times they work in opposition to their spiritual development. They teach ideas contrary to the Bible. They compete directly with the time and affection of the child. The sole responsibility for the spiritual awareness, development, and accountability of the children in our nation belongs upon the shoulders of the church.
It is not the school’s job! It is not the athletic organization’s job. It is not the scout troop’s job. It is the church’s job. It is the responsibility of Christians to care about the souls of the youth. Christian parents and grandparents must care more about their spiritual development than they do the other three areas. It is the spiritual foundation that is the bedrock and building foundation for all other development. Churches must have a burden for the youth of our communities.
Most, if not all, of the problems we see today with our youth, issues such as sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, suicide, gun violence, and low self-worth, are coming from the failure of our youth to develop spiritually. They are smart academically. They are incredible athletes. They know how to socialize and connect through social media with others. BUT they do not know God! They don’t even know they have a soul! They don’t know where they are from, why they are here, or where they are going!
The only people they have the responsibility of changing this fact is the church! We need to fall on our knees in prayer. We need to see every child in our communities as a child we have a responsibility for educating spiritually. Let’s get busy; this generation of children is depending upon us!
