Today is Inauguration Day in the United States. It goes without saying that this particular election cycle has been tumultuous and that the signals the incoming administration are giving off regarding the sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and more have many Christians feeling apprehensive, unsettled, or even afraid.
In particular, many parents and grandparents wonder, “What kind of world will I be raising my kids (or discipling my grandchildren) in?” Well, we don’t know exactly what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. Consider:
Because he knows all things, is in control of all things, and is sovereignly working all things for his glory and our good (Romans 8:28).
Nothing that has happened in 2020 or the first 20 days of 2021 has taken God by surprise. He is in control (Job 42:2), and Psalm 2 tells us that he laughs at the crooked and perverse plans of the wicked. Why? Because he knows all things, is in control of all things, and is sovereignly working all things for his glory and our good (Romans 8:28). We can rest in the God of whom, after the tragic invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah said:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)
For years, we at Answers in Genesis have been warning that when the younger generations (X, Y, Z), who are very secularized (many times they are atheistic), become the dominant voting bloc in the culture, we’ll see catastrophic cultural change. It’s happening. The spiritual war we’ve always been involved in is heating up. So what should we be doing as individual Christians, as local church bodies, as ministries (like AiG), as parents, and as grandparents?
We should follow Scripture and do what the church has always done, regardless of the political, cultural, and social climate:
In other words, we stay on mission!
Yes, we need to “buckle up!” as the new administration takes over in America as it seems we will increasingly understand what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians when he said:
[T]hat you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15)
Yes, we must be aware that the more the world embraces sin, as is happening before our eyes, the more the world will not tolerate God’s Word and the Christian faith. The world’s moral relativism can’t tolerate the absolutes of Christianity:
[P]eople loved the darkness rather than the light . . . (John 3:19)
Yes, we must be aware that, as Ephesians 6 says, we are in a raging spiritual war and that our weapon is the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God—and that we’re equipped with the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, and our feet are covered with the gospel of peace. So let’s “put on the full armor of God” and resolve in our hearts to obey the Lord, not man (Daniel 1:8), no matter what comes this year, next year, or ten years from now. And remember: nothing can happen that God doesn’t allow. His sovereign purposes are beyond our understanding. Yes, we need to be faithful and trust God totally.
Despite what may happen, Christians are to shine the light of the truth of God’s Word and the gospel in our increasingly dark culture.
Despite what may happen, Christians are to shine the light of the truth of God’s Word and the gospel in our increasingly dark culture. Those are our divine marching orders! And we need to shine brighter than ever!
Now, if you’re a parent (or maybe a grandparent), you have a special responsibility and privilege from the Lord—to declare his works to the next generation that they might praise him (Psalm 145:4). As the world gets darker, some parents struggle with how to teach and raise their children in the Lord. But the principles from God’s Word haven’t changed—and don’t change—just because the culture is getting darker. We must teach them to love and obey God’s Word, submitting to its authority in all areas, and to know and believe the saving gospel.
I am passionate about parents raising generations who will love the Lord Jesus, stand on his Word, and be lights in this world. In my new book, Will They Stand?: Parenting Kids to Face the Giants, I lay out biblical principles for parenting that I think many Christian parents need to know.
Will They Stand? is a very personal book, with stories from my younger years and from raising our own five children, as well as a chapter on Christian education from my daughter Renee (who heads AiG’s Christian school, Twelve Stones Christian Academy) and an interview chapter with my wife, Mally. It’s my prayer that this book will ignite a fire in the hearts of parents and grandparents to make it a priority to teach their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord so they can stand, no matter the giants.
I encourage you to order a copy of Will They Stand? from AnswersBookstore.com today.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
Email me with Ken’s daily email:
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.