What Will Happen After You’re Gone?

I have many friends who are raising their children to be honest, loving, hard-working people. These children are a delight to be around. Their parents and in some cases grandparents have done a great job passing their values on to the next generation. They diligently teach them to be honest, to be hard-working, to be caring and willing to give of themselves. I commend them for a job well done.

What I find troubling is that these friends are teaching their children all these things without God’s help. Some of them would be surprised to hear me say that because they will say that they read the Bible. They believe in Jesus. They have accepted Him as their personal Savior. Others will agree with me — they are doing it without God’s help. They don’t see the need to look to God’s word as a guide for their life.

Like I have already said, things are going just fine. Their children are good, moral people. They will continue to be good moral people because that’s the way they were raised.

I want to ask, “What happens after you’re gone?”

If the children are being taught the way to live based on what Mom/Dad/Grandma/Grandpa think, what will happen when these important people in their life are no longer available to influence them?

Everyone needs a basis for their life — whether they admit it or not. These children need something more than “Mom says so” to guide them through. They need the guidance of the One who created them. Why would anyone want to offer something inferior to their precious offspring when the genuine thing is available right at their fingertips.

When this generation has passed on and our children have taken our place, they must have the real thing. They must be able to find out what is right and what is wrong some other way than depending on their memory of what they were taught as a child.

These children need to be taught that God’s way is the right way. That we are helpless without Him. We are sinners without Him. This world is not the final destination. We must prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.

How sad it will be if when we pass on, we realize then that what we taught our children was wrong. We won’t be able to do anything about it then. We must teach our children to follow God’s will, not ours, not theirs, not society’s.

I pray that these children will be encouraged by me, by a friend, by a parent or grandparent to look to God’s word for guidance on how to live. If not, when you’re gone, they will have nothing.