“Children today love luxury too much. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for their elders and love gossip in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not servants in their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, ignore company, gorge food at the table, cross their legs, and greatly disrespect their teachers.”
You know what’s ironic about this quote? Oh, maybe the fact that it was written over 2,500 years ago. Oh, and it was written by a little known guy named…Socrates. You see, if there is ever a constant in life, it’s that as our generations grow and expound, they will complain about each other. The older generations think the youth are impetuous, disrespectful and foolish and the younger generations think the older generations are boring, out of touch and well, just plain old. All somewhat true on both sides.
But what is important in any society is just how the generations get along. How do they mesh and form bridges from one to another? A key to creating a successful continuous society is just this, seeing that one generation can effectually pass knowledge along to the next. In successfully completing this simple process, you can see the hard earned wisdom of life not lost and repeated, but learned from, thereby reducing the possibility of repeating failures into the future. Call it passing the torch.
Today in Numbers 27 we see the beginnings of just this, a passing of the torch. Up until now we have seen Moses and his older brother Aaron drag around the Israelites and bottle feed them until they were, at times, so frustrated they were ready to die and go be with God. (Num 11:13-15) This was surely no easy road for the brothers, but they obediently served God in the way that God demanded. But another great truth is that no human body lives forever, all flesh perishes, from dust we came and to dust we shall return. We saw Aaron die a few chapters back and here we see that Moses is not much longer for this world. As a result, it’s time to pass the torch, it’s time to choose his successor. It’s time for one generation to move into the next.
Recall in Numbers 13 that the people sent spies into the Promised Land to see if it was any good and could be conquered. The report came back lopsided. 12 men went, 10 said it couldn’t be taken but 2 said it could. Those two men were Joshua and Caleb. These two men saw exactly what the others saw but they instead believed it could be done. Faith in God will do that to us. Faith in God allows us to see what His heart sees, not what our heart sees. Faith is God’s vision substituted for our own. As a result of their unbelief, God destined the people to march in the desert for 40 years so that their hard rebellious hearts could fall and perish. All but two did not. Only Caleb and Joshua were left. God had a purpose for these men of great faith.
As God reveals to Moses that he will not be allowed to enter the promised land for his debacle concerning the rock (Num 20:10-12), I love Moses’ immediate response. It’s not one of lament, anger, argument or frustration as it could have been. As a true shepherd would respond, he only cares about the sheep.
“May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” Numbers 27:16-17
Moses realizes the success of the people will rely on a man that has a heart for God. And where will this man come from? Well, Moses had been working with Joshua for the last 40 years. You see God had carefully placed Joshua as an understudy to Moses for the last 40 years, he had been investing in the future of His people in preparation for this moment. You can call it on the job training, you can call it job modeling or you can call it hands on learning, but the Bible calls it discipleship. Two people walking closely together with God, the older showing the wisdom of God to the younger.
Joshua will take the reins and take the people into the Promised Land. Joshua will be one of the fiercest warriors that will ever rise up for God. Joshua will lead the people in conquering the Promised Land and wiping out the numerous rebellious nations that occupied a land that God had reserved for His people. And in all of this, He could look back to his mentor, Moses.
Big question. As we all age and move ever closer to shedding these bodies, who are you investing in? Who are you discipling in the Lord? The funny thing about discipling someone is that you must honestly address your own walk with Jesus first. For instance, how can I apprentice someone in a trade if I am not well versed in that trade? My dad served as master locksmith for many years of his career and as a result of those years of intense learning and practicing, He was able to train up young apprentice locksmiths in the skills they needed to be successful. Even Luke Skywalker needed Yoda. First become the master before you can hope to train the student you must. (Yoda talk)
How well do you know the Word of God? How can you disciple and train up young people in the Word of God if you don’t know what it says? How can you teach a young person to pray when you don’t get on your own knees every day and talk with God yourself? How can you tell someone what it truly means to serve the Lord if they never see you serving? You see, God arranged this scenario to be like a dog chasing his tail. You must draw near to Christ in order to teach others what it means to draw near to Him. The cycle is beneficial to both involved. In fact, in my discipleship relationships, I’m never certain who is teaching who the most.
We have an obligation to our future generations. To pass a torch that is burning brightly. A lost world wants to pass a dim torch, hoping it will extinguish. A bitter world hopes future generations will fail so they can say I told you so. The world wants to cast blame and poke fingers at the newer generations and speak ill and harsh words about their behavior and their choices. But folks, that is not God’s plan at all.
You see, within the power of God’s Word is a timeless truth that fuels lives. Within the power of prayer is an act that can not just change a life, but change a world. Within the power of obediently serving God lies a force that can addict the soul, re-training a heart that giving of yourself is better than serving yourself. You see, God’s plan is all about passing that torch. About moving the light from one generation to the next. And that is done by those that are maturely walking with Jesus Christ, teaching those that are newer in the walk what it means, what it looks like, and how it feels. Passing the torch is discipling new believers in the Lord.
And by the way, this is not just a recommendation or an idea, we are commanded by Jesus Christ himself to make disciples of the new generations of believers. Today is the day, let’s get busy.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission
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