Kids Change....the Prime Directive Doesn’t

If you have children and grandchildren, you frequently come to these reality moments when you consider how they have changed so much in such a short time.  It’s as if the thought is fresh....though you have pondered it thousands of times.  My youngest of seven is still asking dad to do things like build a swing...needless to say, I feel the urgency to accommodate, knowing that current priority in her heart will soon fade away.  Actually, it is already moving into dirt bikes, and we have had a lesson or two. My point is, from swings to motorcycles, change happens too quickly.

Genesis  2:15 is the passage that follows the Dominion Mandate of Gen. 1:28 (“fill the earth and subdue it”).  In this very clear and compelling directive, God tells Adam that there are two things I am asking you to do...nurture and protect. I call this the Prime Directive...look at all the things we are called to nurture and protect.  First and foremost is our relationship with God.  Nurturing and protecting are active things we intentionally do. God put Adam in the garden with this clear set of instructions and  we can easily see the illustration of cultivating, planting, watering, and protecting so that we can enjoy the fruit. Our relationships with others, our gifts and abilities, and our resources and opportunities are all to be managed by the Prime Directive. When we don’t prioritize this; those areas suffer greatly.

As parents and ministry leaders, we take this sacred responsibility seriously and seek to nurture and build a strong Biblical foundation for our rapidly changing children. Our leaders are aware of the window of opportunity before them and are seeking the Lord on how to teach, train and equip this emerging generation and fulfill the Prime Directive.  This issue of the newsletter gives some good insight into this noble and honorable assignment that we all share. So instead of lamenting about change and its seeming accelerated pace, let’s engage in the assignment, tend the garden, enjoy the season and fuel the future.

Pastor Rodney Lord