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Have you ever watched a movie and jumped to the end because the characters and the challenges they faced were so frustrating that you just had to know how it all worked out before you wasted your time on the “process?” Cue Forest Gump followed by Notting Hill! While stellar character and plot development were most certainly in play, there’s only so much foreshadowing a mind can take before it just “has to know” the outcome. God understands that so He gave us a Genesis and a Revelations and fills us up with everything in between.
Isn’t the Bible amazing?
I mean, if ever there was a script of epic proportions, the Bible would be the one. Don’t get me wrong. We’re not dealing with some fairy-tale Hollywood production that is bound to leave you wanting. On the contrary, the Bible is so on point that it gets us dressed and ready for an amazing life…and an amazing life after. Psalm 119:105 (NIV) gives us a taste of what I mean. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Cool right?
Where else will you get just the information you need to do life right? Where else will you be privileged with the outcome even before you begin the process? Definitely not in Hollywood! So, we thought we’d cue up at least two ways that God gives us the ending to prepare us for life to the full.
Train up a Child
Ah, the joy of children! When I first became a parent, I knew no greater miracle. Almost everything I’d experienced up until then became obsolete and I immediately transformed my thinking. Stuff I thought I’d never do was now a “no brainer” if it meant protecting the little one God had blessed us with. And that includes protection from me.
Wait. What? If I love my child, why would he need protection from me? Because left to myself, without surrender to God, the following scripture becomes twice as hard. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 NIV
Training up our children to follow God can seem a daunting task. But what’s great about this scripture is that God shares the end result of that training. He reminds us that even if our children endure hardship during the process of life, we don’t have to fear if we train them up right. They will not turn from God when they are old. I don’t know about you, but I love knowing that my children could have that kind of ending.
Older Generation Teach Younger Generation
I really enjoy listening to the elderly talk about the good old days. Some of their stories are so fascinating that I find myself wishing for simpler times. The thing I’ve come to realise, though, is that simpler doesn’t always mean less challenging. The lessons our parents and their parents learned before us apply even today. Technology may make certain things easier, but life lessons are life lessons no matter what the century.
Paul gave Titus specific instructions on generational teaching. Each of those instructions included the end result. The older women are to train the younger women “so that no one will malign the Word of God.” Titus 2: In the same passage, Paul cautions Titus that as a teacher of the young men, he was to “show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech…so that those who oppose” would be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about God’s people.
So, the end result of properly teaching the younger generation is the protection of God’s word and God’s image. If that’s not a high calling, I don’t know what is.
Whether you are a parent, a child, younger, or older, God promises a great ending to a life spent devoted to Him and His word. Some people may laugh at you or ridicule you when you choose to follow Him. Sometimes you might feel out of place in a world that seems to have no place for God. The thing is that as you grow as an individual and mature in your faith you will transition from student to teacher. No matter your station, God has an epic plan for you. It’s greater than anything Hollywood could come up with. And you’ve got the lead role. So, do not lose heart. You know the ending. Now it’s up to you to live through “the process” and enjoy the full life God has in store.
