“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” I Pe. 5:5
There is something very wonderful happening at the church I pastor. First I will say that we are very blessed to have a good group of elder men (fathers) in our church that love God and are mature in the things of God. We also have a good group of young zealous men (sons) that want to follow after and know God more intimately. I am seeing something, I believe I have never seen really work like it should, happening amongst our brethren. The young men have come to a place that they see the elder men as a real blessing and encouragement in their life. The elder are to teach the younger, but sometimes it takes a while for the younger believers to discover the value that older saints of God can be in their life. Sometimes there is a shortage of godly elderly saints, and sometimes young believers are too proud to receive any wisdom and direction from others. There is often a lack of understanding from the church in general that we are a family and we should not be divided up into age groups and encourage generation gaps. But, when it is working like it should, it is a beautiful thing to be a part of. For the younger to submit to the elder is not meant for control, but for spiritual growth and blessing.