Part 6: Pass it on!
Sometimes part of the price that God requires of us before we can inherit our promise is actually a joy to pay. For example, when Jesus called the twelve to follow Him, they all had to leave something behind (fishing, tax collecting, etc.), but there is no mention of any reluctance on their part to do so. They each paid a price to go with Him, but apparently did so joyfully.
I believe that Caleb also joyfully and willingly paid the next part of the price required of him --- that of helping prepare the younger generations (those who would not die in the wilderness) to be ready to take the Promised Land at the end of the forty-year death march. Now I know that I am speculating here, but it does seem safe to assume that Caleb realized that he and Joshua would not be able to take the land by themselves, and that the younger ones would be of no help whatsoever unless someone prepared them. And since he had to find something to do for the next forty years, why not focus on getting them ready? After all, he had a good example of this in Abraham who went to war with those trained in his own house (Gen.14:14). I’m sure that he realized that if he helped train them, then he would be able to count on them to perform well when the time came to cross the Jordan and possess the land!
Preparing the younger generations is still something that is absolutely essential if we want to see the continued extension of the Kingdom of God into all the world! This is true for every expression of Christian ministry. If any ministry --- small or large, local or global --- wants to continue in an effective way after those of the first generation die or move on, it is IMPERATIVE that the next generations be prepared to carry on and take it even farther than the first ones did!
Obviously, there is much that could be said on this topic, but I would like to emphasize two things that I believe EVERY God-ordained ministry should incorporate into the preparation of younger generations. And if they fail to do so, I believe that they are setting up their ministries for failure.
The first is an impartation of the “every creature” vision that Jesus challenged us with in the Great Commission (Mk.16:15; Mt.28:19,20). This vision should be at the core of EVERY ministry, no matter what other focus(es) that ministry may have! Everything a ministry does should be done in such a way that it ultimately helps fulfill that greater vision! When the early church at Jerusalem failed to obey this command, they were persecuted and scattered so that they would do it! THAT’S how important it is! We receive so that we may give (Mt.10:8); we have been reconciled to God so that we may have a ministry of reconciliation (2Cor.5:18).
I also used the word “impartation” because vision is caught, not taught. This means that the vision has to be alive and burning in someone before it can be “caught” by others. Young people have a knack for sensing whether something is simply being taught or if it is a driving force in a person’s life. If they discern that what we hold forth as our vision is not shaping and directing our lives, they will find those to follow whose vision is alive in them, even if that vision is wrong! This is especially true in this day and age when “tradition” or “because I said so” are no longer good enough reasons for young people to continue doing what their parents and elders did. They must be motivated by something that is alive, relevant, and challenging ! I know of far too many ministries where the “first generation” people were full of vision and willing to do whatever necessary to see that ministry grow and prosper in order to help fulfill the Great Commission, only to see the ministry die or stagnate when that generation was gone. But the ones that continued to grow and increase in their impact on the world are those that managed to impart the vision to successive generations that in turn carried it on and allowed the way the vision was walked out to evolve according to the progressive revelation given them by the Lord!
The other thing that I believe should be a part of preparing the next generations is an emphasis on linking the generations in order to more effectively fulfill the vision. We must stop promulgating the concept of “passing the baton” from one generation to the next. This philosophy implies that one generation does all it can, then steps aside to allow the next generation to have a go at it. This kind of approach causes one generation to become fearful, jealous, or resentful of another. What a deception we have bought into when we embrace this position! It causes us to miss out on so much that is available to us when we are willing to draw upon the best that each has to offer and to combine those qualities for the sake of the Kingdom! The generations should not succeed and replace each other, they should come alongside each other (please see Mal.4:5,6)! I am sure that Caleb had no intention of spending all that time preparing those next generations to then simply step aside and watch them take the land! No, they went in TOGETHER to claim their inheritance!
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