Keep on encouraging our youth
Read the Rev. Carey Ingram’s column and see what’s coming up in the church calendar.
It is amazing that I know so many graduates who finished as honor graduates, standout athletes, and all with great personalities. So now the time has come for these graduates to move to the next level of life.
They are approaching adulthood, which means life takes on a new meaning, giving young people the freedom that they have longed for. Yet, with that freedom comes tremendous responsibility. Now, they have decisions to make all by themselves: decisions that can change their lives forever, for better or for worse.
Some will enter into the work force; some will join the military; others will go to college for continued education, and some might even get married.
Just know that God has a plan and purpose for everyone. However, the downside of this new and great adventure is the fact that the enemy, Satan, is looking to kill their vision and destroy their lives. Unfortunately, little is said about this challenge because, although it is real, it is not popular.
High school does not prepare students for the spiritual war that is sure to come. And if a student does not have a spiritual relationship with God as they are growing up, they are truly uninformed about being vigilant, moral, and ethical in their daily walk. Therefore, we must remind our youth that they cannot succeed in this world without a relationship with God and a vision. “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18).
The word vision denotes that which is communicated by God to man through inspired revelation. In this context, the term has nothing to do with carnal idealism, natural optimism or even personal enthusiasm. On the contrary, it refers to the prophetic vision of God as related to man’s needs.
In the Garden of Eden, the vision of God dominated the lives of Adam and Eve as they fellowshipped with him.
But when they lost that vision, they were spiritually defenseless. Young people must be in a relationship with God so that He can give them vision which will provide direction and protection from the wiles of the devil.
My friend, John Walker, Sr. said, “A man without a vision is a man without a future. A man without a future will always return to his past. Vision is the bridge between the present and the future.”
Therefore, until our youth are secure and their vision is clear, what if we as adults took the time to share our journey with them: our faults, our failures, our successes, our joys, our disappointmentsall that led us to seek God who gave us the vision for a good and successful life. Transparency is a must speaking truth to love, letting our youth know that we fall down but we get up.