Back To School Again — Hope For Future Generations!

Schools are opening up again but with a cloud of uncertainty. COVID-19 along with government and healthcare regulations  have presented challenges and restrictions on how we educate our young. Our future hope is in the educational needs of of our children.

Today, I am amazed by all the challenges that have faced us in 2020. I think it’s safe to say that we all stand amazed. These are definitely unusual days and there is so many times that I wonder what all of this means. Yet, I am convinced that God is in control and that He is never surprised!

My joy and certainty is in Christ and the only hope we can be certain of! While thumbing through my Bible, I recently came across Romans 12:1-2 again. I’ve read this passage a thousand times. It always seems to confirm to me that God is wanting to do a new thing in me and through me but there is one constant that never changes; we are to renew our mind! It is our perspective (the way we see life) that make all the difference. The renewal of our minds is the profound difference.

As kids return to school, I must reflect on the understanding that we too, need to be students of God’s Word. I think about the many restrictions that our kids are having to face and how often the obstacles that even we face can distract us from the opportunity to renew our minds for God’s glory. 

Allow me to take a few moments to share with you a few of my personal musings as I meander through this blog.

How many times have you heard the saying, “If only I had the time?” How often have you heard the many excuses? We live in a time when there is so many restrictions on our free time. We seem to have more free time than ever before yet, we seem to find distractions easily. It is so easy to become distracted that we miss the opportunities that are right before us.

I challenge each one of us to go back to school, spiritually. Just like hope is found in future generations, so too we discipline our pursues in Christ. Our future depends on it. As we renew our mind, consider the impact it can have on those we lead; the young, those in need, & future generations.

One thing that I know is that elders (those older) demonstrate the commitment to duty and responsibility. Perhaps it’s because of the many struggles that our elders have seen or perhaps in their generation they have learned to not take anything for granted. Their experiences can teach us! 

As our children return to school but it’s also return to a spiritual school and a commitment to the word of God as Truth. God’s wisdom helps answer complex problems. God’s Word is the teacher and by His Spirit do we learn. 

Romans 12:1-2 reads, And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

What new lessons are you anticipating? What is one thing that you can learn from? What is one discipline you still need to master? Make your list of the lessons you need to study or take action steps to improve upon. 

Learn from experiences and teach them to yourself and pass them into your children and those younger than yourself. It is in your failing that someone can learn but much more in your successes that lessons are witnessed. Your disciplines become models for others to follow.

Don’t let anything keep you from growing and developing into all that God has for you! Future generations are watching and counting on you to grow in the grace and spiritual light that God provides!