Investing in the Future

Last night at FBC Birmingham, our pastor led a great bible study on investing in the future.  He shared from 1 Kings 13 about how an old prophet of God had slipped up and cut the legs out from underneath a younger prophet.  Sadly, this scene happens far too often.  In this passage, we see that a young man of God confronts the evil king Jeroboam as he had led the people of God into sin.  The sad part of this whole story is that the "man of God" who was at this place had just sat back and let things go without saying a word.  The sight of this young man of God stepping up and standing up for the LORD made the older man of God realize just how he had dropped the ball.

Why is it that so many times when we see someone else rise up to do the work that we have failed to do that we take it personally?  Who are we to get angry when someone else steps up and does the work that we have chosen not to do?  I can't say enough how grateful I am for our pastor and his wisdom in knowing that it is vital for the church to embrace the upcoming generations and enable them to carry on the work God has given us to do instead of cutting their legs out from under them.

In this new year, I encourage you to look for those who are coming along and invest in them to carry on the great work of the LORD.  The truth is one day, whether we like it or not, we are going to be gone and will have to entrust the work God is doing through us to the next generation.  How much better would it be if we go ahead now to train and encourage them?