If you ask people what they do for a living, they will describe themselves according to their significant tasks: \u201cI am a mother,\u201d \u201cI am a teacher,\u201d \u201cI am a doctor\u201d or whatever task identifies them best. Having a significant task is a part of our God-given DNA. Every child, no matter how young, wants to have a significant task (or at least one they perceive as significant).<\/p>\n
I saw this truth lived out the other day by my two-year-old grandson, Titus. He came over to our house, and I asked if he wanted to help his Poppy. He replied, grinning, \u201cI help, Poppy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not long ago, my wife and I bought Titus a toy Black & Decker tool kit. I got out my tools, and he got out his. Our task was to replace a wall-mounted TV. First, we had to get the box that held the new TV and push it down the hallway into the room where it belonged. Of course, I could have carried the box myself, but I would have robbed my grandson of a significant task.<\/p>\n
\u201cTitus,\u201d I said. \u201cGet on the other end and push.\u201d He placed his little hands on the box and leaned in, pushing with all his might like a strong man straining to move a train down the track. After we arrived at our destination, I opened the box and pulled out the little plastic sacks containing the remote control, batteries, instructions and TV stand. As I opened each one, I handed Titus the empty bag and asked him to put it in the wastebasket. He eagerly trotted off, deposited his prize in the trash and returned to await the next one.<\/p>\n
With this accomplished, I noticed my helper looked a little bored. \u201cTitus, can you saw these big Styrofoam pieces into smaller ones?\u201d I asked. He took out his little saw and began whaling away on the foam inserts. His saw didn\u2019t cut but caused the Styrofoam to crumble instead. Tiny white BBs began to drift around the room. Titus would stop and rest for a minute or two and then attack his project again. Before long, the room looked like a snowstorm had hit.<\/p>\n
It took me forever to clean up the mess, and I\u2019m still finding snow pellets around our house. But I saw in Titus a desire to help, to do something significant. Every child is born with that desire. As parents and grandparents, it is our responsibility to identify this as soon as possible and do our best to cultivate it.<\/p>\n
A friend of mine works with a group called \u201cLeaders in Training\u201d (LIT). This group takes children in grades 1-3 and equips these young minds to have a quiet time, memorize Scripture, and discover a significant task within their local church. When the students are in grades 4-6, the LIT program helps them develop leadership skills and discover their own spiritual gifts and significance as participants in God\u2019s Kingdom work. The older children also begin to teach the younger ones.<\/p>\n
In the summer, 200 of these preteens participated in a local outreach project. They went to apartment complexes and mobile home communities to set up what they called \u201cPower Clubs.\u201d They taught Bible stories, led in crafts and music, and shared the gospel personally with those who attended. By the end of the week, these young students had led 56 souls to the Lord. Step by step, these young people are gaining identity and purpose rooted in who they are in God\u2019s eyes and the significant task He invites them into \u2013 advancing His kingdom to the ends of the earth.<\/p>\n
One of these days, I hope to move young Titus from his significant task of sawing Styrofoam to the most significant task of all: being salt and light in a dark world, an agent of change through the power of the gospel. My prayer is that one day he will set the captives free, standing beside his dad (and Poppy) as a defender of the faith.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you ask people what they do for a living, they will describe themselves according to their significant tasks: \u201cI am a mother,\u201d \u201cI am a teacher,\u201d \u201cI am a doctor\u201d or whatever task identifies them best. Having a significant task is a part of our God-given DNA. Every child, no matter how young, wants […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":3006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n