Show them grace
If you had one message to share with the youngest generation, what would you want to tell them?
There are the universal truths that are important to pass along, such as “don’t worry so much about what other people think about you.”
There are also some nuggets of wisdom that have been forged from your personal life experiences. There were things that you had to overcome the hard way, and it would be wonderful to help the younger generation avoid that.
But here’s something to pause and consider. If all we can teach the next generation is what we got right, then they will have very little to learn. If all we can show the next generation is how to match our performance, then they will have very little to live up to.
There’s a better target to aim for. The elderly apostle Paul said this to a young pastor named Timothy: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).
Paul had lived out plenty of things that Timothy could learn from, but the one thing Paul showed more than anything else was what grace looks like.
That is true of us too. If we can show future generations what it looks like to receive and give God’s grace, they will have everything they need.