Yesterday, our youngest grandson, Drew, returned home from a week at church camp. The kids spent the week learning more about worship, prayer, community and a host of other Bible based concepts that are being reinforced every day in their lives. Research shows that people who come to Christ by their early teen years are much more likely to keep the faith throughout their lives than those who didn’t accept Christ until they were much older.
While Drew and our other three grandsons have been exposed to church and all that encompasses, the camp experience, called The Great Escape, is a program that all of our grandsons have been a part of when while they were of age. Connor, our oldest grandson, even went back as a camp counselor after he aged out of being able to attend as a camper. The camp is an extension of what they have been taught at home their entire lives.
It has been great to watch each of the boys strengthen their faith through being at camp and participating in other youth oriented church activities. Of course, saying grace at meals and witnessing their parents leading a God centered life has also provided each of them with a model of behavior that we pray they will emulate the rest of their lives.
Our oldest daughter, Kristin, has been in church education for young children during the past fifteen years. She has been on church staff and is beloved by thousands of kids who have had the benefit of her teaching. While she has focused on our youngest saints, she has recently accepted a different position where her audience will be older kids through high school and into college.
This week she is the keynote speaker at, you guessed it, a kid’s bible camp. We are so proud of the accomplishments that all of our children have made in being good role models for our younger generations. What’s more, all of our grandchildren are quick to ask Bible based questions and they come to the family to discuss issues that are on their minds theologically.
Our verse for tonight is from Solomon’s book of the Proverbs. Most theologians believe that it was a book written near the middle of his life, after the passion of the Song of Solomon but before the book of Ecclesiastes, his strongest life work clearly written by an elder statesmen who has wisdom gifted to him by God Himself.
Solomon tells us, in Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” My encouragement this evening is that teaching our children is a vitally important mission that must take our full attention. The future is in their hands and we must leave the world in better hands than when we found it. My prayer is that we will never tire of being role models, not only for our children, regardless of age, but also for each other. It is in this way that we can walk together and strengthen one another for the journey ahead.
Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…