“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12
The students stood in a circle. Their parents stood behind them surrounding them with love and prayers. It marked the end of one season and the beginning of another. Although they were just 6th and 8th graders graduating to the next level of ministry – from children to youth, middle to high school – the prayers of the parents echoed a devoted love and desire to see their children grow richly in their faith, arm in arm with one another, supported by their parents and spurred on by those in the youth ministry.
As we took turns praying for our children, there was such unity in the room and the heart’s cry of the parents was evident from the verbalization of their unrehearsed prayers. As the fragrant offerings were lifted to the Throne Room of our Heavenly Father, I saw a picture of what it’s like to be part of God’s bigger family.
My heart’s cry was for our boys to be surrounded and lifted up by the other kids in our youth group. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. That our youth would truly point one another to Jesus.
The picture that came to me was of the grapevine growing like gangbusters on my backyard fence. I realized that it’s really not enough to only be supported by those around us. We all know what happens in middle and high school when it comes to peer pressure. We also have to be rooted and grounded in God’s marvelous love as Paul tells us. My grapevine wouldn’t be anything if it didn’t have strong roots in good soil.
But even more than that, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s the sunshine that gives life to every living thing on this earth. Without the sun, the intricate balance of our planet would not be sustainable to live. The sun is the catalyst for photosynthesis in the plants which releases the oxygen that everything needs to breathe. The sun causes the water cycle that evaporates the water from the earth into the atmosphere, condensing it causing it to rain on the plants that need the water to grow and photosynthesize.
You get the picture – without the sun there is no life. Without the Son of God, there is no life.
So my prayer for my boys, my husband, my family, for all those I love, for you sweet sister or brother in Christ, is that you root down in the soil of God’s marvelous love, that you are rooted and grounded in the Word of God; that you would look up at the Son, fix your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of your faith; and that you would then reach out with love to those around you, supporting, encouraging, and spurring them on pointing them to Jesus, the one true vine.
His servant and yours,
Paula