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Stages And Ages
Brian Mashburn
August 11, 2013
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Stages And Ages
Today, we acknowledge the passage of many of our students from the care and instruction of our Children's Ministry into the adventure and guidance of our Youth Ministry.
For them, it is an exciting and revolutionary time, mixed in with a healthy dose of tentativeness and apprehension.
It reminds me of just how uneducated and inexperienced our culture is in understanding, honoring, and utilizing the idea that there are "stages" in a young person's life.
Jesus seemed to acknowledge the idea of "stages" when he said to his young disciples, "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear." (John 16:12)
Even more overt is John, when he addresses men at various stages, differentiating between "dear children," "young men," and "fathers." (1 John 2).
Paul distinguishes between older and younger women as well, saying that the former should be at a "trainer" stage, and younger women at a "trainee" stage. (Titus 2:3-5).
Acknowledged or not, our children are moving through stages. The extent to which we are aware of it increases the extent to which we are co-operating with them to help them move through them and grow in a healthy and productive way.
Today, let's acknowledge it. Let's take a look at it. And let's see if we can't join in the development that God wants to happen within and among our children.