Imagine the End

Check out this beautiful video offering a view of kids from different cultures growing up and training to be the “best” in the world.

It got me thinking:

There is determination and commitment needed to achieve Olympic status. 

There is determination and commitment needed to have lasting Christian faith.

What would this commercial look like if it were plugging youth ministry or ministry in general?  What if this was a video showing the pursuit of Christian faith across cultural/ethnic boundaries?  Would/Could such a video exist?

I’m sort of falling in love with the curriculum from Orange, particularly the DVD series featuring Chap Clark entitled, “Parenting A New Generation.”  It’s worth the cost.  We have been using it for a parenting Sunday school class, and they liked it so much that when it was finished they started it over!

One of my favorite lessons is called, “Imagine the End.”  In it, Chap Clark encourages parents to think about who they desire their children to “become,” rather than who they appear to be right now.  Imagine the end.  Who do I want my child to become?  What matters most?

In the busyness of parenting – in the chaos of parenting – how often do we really step back and think about what we want for our kids’ future?  Sure, we all want them to be “successful”, but how do we define “success”?  What matters most?  Is it the money they make, the spouse they choose, the college they attend?  And how do we encourage faith formation in the midst of all the busyness?

What matters most?  Who do we desire that our children become?

In order to answer these questions we must begin to “imagine the end.”  That’s what we do in so many other areas of life, why not with faith?  That is, if we truly consider faith to be not just important, but The Most Important thing our children can own.