Summer is a wonderful season to invest in young people. Over the last few days I have had the opportunity to spend substantial time with several hundred teenagers. In that group were our two youngest children and I was reminded how quickly this season of life passes. In a very short time our oldest daughter will be married!

Yet this is the way God intended. Parents provide training in the early stages of life, and at some point those guides are removed. We are preparing our children to go on without our supervision.

Proverbs 22:6, a verse often quoted and frequently misapplied, says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” It is my conviction that this proverb is given more as a principle than as a promise. (Read more about the meaning of the verse here.)

This is the only time in Scripture that this Hebrew word train is used. It means to dedicate or discipline. The root of the word carries the idea of narrowing something down.

Think of it this way: as the world is opening up to young people, as opportunities continue to open to them, someone will have to help them narrow down what God wants for them. This should begin at home and must be continued through the church family. How can we help young people to find the Lord’s specific purpose for their life?

• Teach young people to do the revealed will of God. Jesus said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). In other words, as we obey we gain understanding. Move forward with what He has already said and He will give additional direction. Do what you know and you will know what to do!
• Encourage young people to seek God for themselves. The greatest thing we can do for our children is help them learn to communicate with the Heavenly Father. When they get into God’s Word and learn to pray the Holy Spirit will begin to work in them in a way that no parent can.
• Help young people to identify their God-given gifts and abilities. This is one good starting point in helping them to discover how God made them. Each person is uniquely made to fulfill God’s purpose for them.
• Engage young people in serving God right where they are. When I was a very young man an older preacher said to me, “Son, if you don’t start serving God now you probably never will.” He was right. The will of God is not future; the will of God is always present. Young people may not be able to do everything, but they can do something.
• Keep young people close. If we build respectful relationships it will allow us to continue to give guidance at each stage. You cannot disciple and direct young people from a distance. Work hard to stay close.

In many ways parents are like life’s training wheels. We help to give balance and direction for a time. Every child needs the stability of mature guides. But there comes a day when the training wheels are removed and the child begins to ride on their own. May God help all of us to do what we can to prepare them while we can.