HOW TOTHE BE A PURAH HERO TO FACTORYOUR CHILDREN

“So“So Gideon Gideon went went to to the the enemy’s enemy’s campcamp with Purah his ser- servantvant becausebecause he he was was afraid.” afraid.”

When we think of Gideon today we immediately picture a brave, fearless, highly focused mighty man of God. But when his name frst appears in chapter of the oo of Judges, Gideon is a fearful, insecure, self-centered and disoriented young man.

In the journey that eventually turned him into the hero we know today, Gideon passed through three distinct stages. First, he discovered that God had a better opinion of him than he had of himself when the angel saluted him as “mighty war- rior,” notithstanding the fact that he as preparing to ee to the hills. Next, he learned that, when he chose to obey God’s admonition to save the nation instead of just himself, God caused his family to develop a better opinion of him than he could have imagined. This became evident to him when his father, after fnding out that Gideon had destroyed the family idols and used the remains to erect an altar to the Lord, chose to stand by his son when the city elders wanted to have him punished. However, the turning point in Gideon’s spiritual metamorphosis came when he set out, albeit reluctantly, for the enemy’s camp. There he discovered that God had caused his enemies to develop a better opinion of him than he would have thought possible as he listened surreptitiously to enemy soldiers describe how God had delivered all of them into his hands while he was shaking in his boots outside their tent.

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text.indd 3 11/23/06 12:47:17 AM The defning moment in Gideon’s journey from a fright- ened young person to a mighty man of God whose name is a symbol of courage and fortitude, was this visit to the enemy’s camp, an assignment he carried out in spite of his fears only because God told him to do so. However, God gave him the option to go with a servant by the name of Purah if he was afraid. This is the only mention of Purah in the Bible, but his role was pivotal because without Purah there would be no Gideon as we know him today.

In Judges 7:9 the Lord said to Gideon, “Arise and go down (to) the camp of the enemies for I have given it into your hands. If you’re afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant…and you will hear what they say, and afterward your hands will be strengthened … So he went with Purah his servant because he was afraid.”

God’s instructions to Gideon, “You go to the enemy’s camp…and your hands will be strengthened,” reveal that he did not become strong until he went to the camp. To better appreciate the magnitude of what Gideon was asked to do, we need to understand that there were 300,000 fully armed enemy soldiers camped in the valley below, looking for- ward to the moment when they would destroy Israel, and everybody in that camp wanted to have Gideon’s head on a platter. So the prospect of going down alone was extremely frightening, especially for a man that was fearful by nature. Knowing this weakness, God said to him, “But if you’re afraid, go with your servant Purah.” And the Bible tells us that because he was afraid he took Purah with him. Purah’s company defnitely gave Gideon the courage to go and hear what God wanted so that his hands would be strengthened 4

text.indd 4 11/23/06 12:47:18 AM and he could, in turn, invigorate his downsized army of 300 soldiers and defeat his enemies to become the mighty warrior we remember today.

Who Was Purah? Facing hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers alone or with another person doesn’t make much of a difference. At est it may delay our fnal demise on the attlefeld y a nanosecond. But in this case it did make a major difference to have Purah around.

Why? I’d like to suggest four reasons.

First, Purah was older. It’s likely that when Gideon was born his father assigned Purah to watch and care for him as a live-in mentor during his growing up years. It is not far- fetched to assume that most of what Gideon knew he learned – directly or indirectly – from Purah.

Second, Purah was more experienced since he had seen more of life. Having received a lifetime assignment to care for Gideon, he probably knew Gideon even better than Gideon knew himself. Notice that God did not say to take any servant, ut e specifcally singled out urah

Third, he was loyal. Being as close as he was to Gideon, he must have been aware of Gideon’s fears and weaknesses, but he didn’t divulge them. He was probably the one who assembled the men who helped Gideon tear down the altars in his father’s house, and would have explained to them in the most positive way possible that they would do it during the night because Gideon was afraid to do it in plain daylight. 5

text.indd 5 11/23/06 12:47:18 AM Purah had a front row seat to the insecurities of Gideon and apparently he chose not to divulge them.

He was older, experienced, and loyal – very precious qualities – but it was a fourth trait that set Purah apart in a most unique way. He knew that when the war cry, “For the Lord and for Gideon,” would be uttered in anticipation of the divinely decreed victory, marking Gideon’s subsequent induction into the Hall of Fame, that his name would not be included, making it possible for Gideon to receive full credit for the victory. It would have been perfectly proper for the shout to be, “For the Lord, for Gideon and for Purah,” because Purah had also gone to the enemy’s camp and shared the risks. But he was comfortable not taking any of the credit, and I’d lie to imagine that he too a signifcant degree of pleasure in seeing Gideon take all of it. So here is someone who was older, more experienced, loyal, and fully aware that his young protégé, whose weaknesses he knew so well, would be given all the recognition. No wonder Gideon took him to the enemy’s camp. If these assumptions are correct, what a precious gift Purah must have been to Gideon!

Do You Have a Purah in Your Life? We all need a Purah – a mentor, an older, wiser, loyal person who knows our weaknesses and yet does not disclose them because of the untapped potential he also sees in us. A Purah is someone who will call us mighty when we are still weak and, because of the potential he sees in us, will address us as warriors even when we are making plans to walk away from the fght person ho emodies these traits ill certainly

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text.indd 6 11/23/06 12:47:19 AM give us the confdence needed to go to the enemy’s camp, witness with delight our metamorphosis from insecurity to confdent leadership, and suseuently rejoice that e get credit that he could legitimately lay claim to.

In the brutally competitive environment in which we operate today, not only in the marketplace where a cut throat attitude is considered an asset, but also in church settings, we desperately need mentors since so many in our generation have grown up as corporate orphans, particularly those with a Type-A personality. These are the visionaries that are able to see clearly hat no one else can at frst, and as a result they are misunderstood and rejected by their peers, and often written off y their elders Lie Joseph in the ld Testament, they are forced into a painful journey through the Pit, Potiphar’s household, and the Prison to get to the Palace. But even when they get there and eperience the enefts that such success estos, they still feel unfulflled ecause no amount of material success can fll the void of forced orphanhood n orphan is someone who has been deprived of parents, and this loss is a double loss since nurturing is a two way street. A mother, when nurturing her baby, is also being nurtured in return. And when a person succeeds by himself, he does so at the risk of undergoing a spiritual vasectomy because the wounds he suffers in solitude getting to the Palace could easily turn him into a wounder of others, not a mentor, much less a father. He will be a successful boss, running people, but a dismal failure at fathering others. It is because the stakes are so high that we all need a Purah in our life.

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text.indd 7 11/23/06 12:47:19 AM The Perils of Success The need for this type of people to have a Purah became evi- dent to me when I was preaching at a top notch convention organized by a young pastor in his early forties who led the largest congregation in town. He had an international TV ministry, great name recognition, the most inuential people among his parishioners, and possessed a very charismatic style of leadership that caused multitudes to follow him readily and, often, unquestionably. Because he was young, ell off fnancially, dressed very ell and his ego as igger than average, many observers predicted that a catastrophic failure would overtake him, sooner rather than later.

I knew that this wasn’t a groundless concern because I have seen unusually successful young preachers fail before. I remember clearly, and not without substantial grief, one in Argentina who had a congregation numbering into the tens of thousands but who pulverized himself because the responsibilities that he carried were too much for the level of maturity he possessed, or possibly lacked. I knew that my host needed help, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the demand (disguised as a pious suggestion) that he should call upon other pastors in town and submit to them, for the very reason that I have seen it tried before and fail. The reason for such failure is that people, in general, and leaders in particular, do not submit to peers. Siblings cannot mentor each other be- cause mentoring requires a father, natural or surrogate, with Purah’s characteristics.

And so it became evident to me that what this young leader needed was an older, experienced, loyal person com- 8

text.indd 8 11/23/06 12:47:19 AM mitted to walk with him in his darkest hours, hold his hand when he was embarrassingly uncertain, keep his mouth shut when he saw him shaking in the enemy’s camp, aware that this was a short stop on the journey from fear to certainty, and above everything else, know that when triumph came, the credit would go to his mentoree and not to him.

The need for fathers – modern-day Purahs – becomes even clearer when we see that the Old Testament closes with a promise involving generational reconciliation. God says, referring to a day still in the future at the time, “I will cause the heart of the parents to turn to their children and the heart of the children to turn to the parents lest I come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:6). In this passage it is the parents ho need to mae the frst move, not the children, for heal- ing to occur. So often we demand that the children’s hearts turn frst as a precondition for us to turn to them, ut the process must begin with the elders. Furthermore, this is a key promise because unless such turning happens, a curse will smite the land.

The Old Testament closes with this promise and the New Testament picks it up at the very beginning when the angel announces to achariah that his son, John the aptist, “…shall go before (Jesus) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children”Lue :7, thus con- necting the two Testaments. No mention of the children is made in the angel’s announcement, which highlights the initiating role expected of fathers. God, leading by example as is character dictates, had John proclaim that the heart

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text.indd 9 11/23/06 12:47:20 AM of Father God had turned toward His wayward children and was soon sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, for them to fnd the ay ac to im

Jesus Had a Purah Too ven Jesus needed a urah ecause, in addition to eing divine, He was also human. The natural choice would have een his father, Joseph, ut most liely he died young since there is no mention of him during Jesus’ adult life If he passed aay prematurely he couldn’t have mentored Jesus Who was Jesus’ Purah?

I’d lie to suggest that it as John the aptist ecause he fts the mold perfectly irst of all, he as older not y much, ut older nevertheless et, at the time of Jesus’ aptism he had more experience, at least as far as public ministry and prophetic utterances is concerned. And he was absolutely loyal to Jesus hen he sa Jesus go y, he enthusiastically proclaimed to those around him, “Behold the Lamb of God.” And he didn’t oppose Andrew and another disciple when they left him to follo Jesus as a result of this acnoledg- ment e ne his shoulders ere designed to ecome Jesus’ platform and to that end he stated, “Somebody is coming after me that is greater than me.” But above all, he derived great joy from knowing that he was called to step down while at the ape of fame and inuence for Jesus’ to increase nd hen the moment came to do so, he did not inch from a stand that as ound to ring an end to his life, noing that Jesus’ ministry would reach greater heights.

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text.indd 10 11/23/06 12:47:20 AM If Jesus needed a Purah, then we do too. For transforma- tion to happen all over the earth, according to God’s promise, the heart of the parents must turn to the children. And this can e ushered in only y sacrifcial, intentional mentoring by those who have the seniority and are willing to make the choice to empower the young in response to a divinely orchestrated turn of heart, something that only God can do because of the complex interplay between power and honor.

No One Can Buy Honor By and large older folks don’t aspire, in the pristine sense of the word, to more power. Instead they long for honor since they’ve already tasted power. Power is what longevity has given to them, even if they have been only marginally successful. They have taken risks, worked hard, and conse- quently have reaped results that have translated into power. Now, as they stand on the threshold leading to the twilight of their earthly life, they long for honor from those around them, especially the young, because as they become progressively aware of their mortality, they realize that honor from the young constitutes the only pathway to posterity. However, honor is not something they can buy, command or manufac- ture since it is a delicate gift that can only be bestowed will- fully by others. No one can command it, for the same reason that oers cannot e told to loom nfortunately, hen older folks don’t receive the honor they long for, in spite of what they have accomplished (and in many cases because of it), they cling harder to power, thus initiating a vicious and destructive cycle.

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text.indd 11 11/23/06 12:47:20 AM On the other hand, young people rate power higher than honor. In their inexperience with the complexity and uncertainty of life, they tend to have a very high opinion of themselves, particularly concerning what they hope to ac- complish. Unlike their elders, who know that in their longer journey they have produced enough adverse character wit- nesses capable of cutting them down to size were they to take the stand, young people listen to the sound emanating from the dual tracks of their dreams and untested ideals, wrongly assuming that being honored by others is not as important as their own self-praise because they plan to succeed, not to fail. Thus honor is not a priority to them. What really matters is proving themselves vis a vis their elders, and for this they need access to the power they hold.

When their elders tell them that they are not ready to take over yet, they feel let down, bypassed, unappreciated, or all of the above. They don’t want words but a transfer of power. And this is how a deep divide between the two generations begins to emerge, reinforced by both camps – the older by refusing to pass power on to the younger, and the younger by declining to honor their elders unless they entrust them ith poer frst They reason, “If you don’t give me power, that means you don’t trust me, and if you don’t trust me, why should I honor you?” And this is how a gap that is designed to prevent God’s promise from eing fulflled is solidifed

A Cycle of Blessings or Curses – Your Choice oever, the ip side of the prolem is the solution If the elders – and there’s no doubt in the Scriptures that they are 12

text.indd 12 11/23/06 12:47:21 AM the ones who must take the initiative – choose to empower the young the way John the Baptist empowered Jesus, yield- ing his disciples to Him, passing the baton, and proclaiming publicly, “He is the one; I am just the forerunner,” then the ten- sion that makes the gap possible disappears. If they follow Purah’s example, going with them into the enemy’s camp to watch them become strengthened until they are able to tell others, “Arise and fght,” and if, like Purah and John the Baptist, the elders do not demand to be credited as a pre-con- dition to empower others, then an era of mentoring would be launched and today’s mentorees will become tomorrow’s mentors, and so forth, until the whole earth has been purged of the curse perpetuated by this generational gap.

This cycle of blessing is illustrated by the fact that Jesus replicated John the Baptist’s actions when He promised His disciples, “You will do greater works than me.” This is no small statement coming from the Son of God who is also the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He clearly stipulated that we would do better than Him. Of course this cannot refer to the work of redemption because such requires the unique perfec- tion of Jesus as the unblemished expiatory lamb. But it does have to do with discipling nations and the accompanying authority to tread upon all power of the evil one until our names have been recorded in heaven as the ones that defeated his minions and took the Kingdom of God to every corner on earth (see Luke 10:17-21).

Jesus modeled this superbly when He promised Peter the keys to the Kingdom, with the power to bind and to

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text.indd 13 11/23/06 12:47:21 AM release, and then stood next to him in the enemy’s camp the night Peter betrayed Him. He had stated earlier that He was in prayer for his faith not to falter, and if there was a moment when Peter needed prayer it was when he denied Jesus in such a cowardly way. On that fateful night not a word of condemnation or exposure came from His lips. And on resur- rection morning He sent the women to tell the apostles and Peter that He was alive. He wanted Peter to know that He had faith in him, something e pulicly affrmed y the laeshore hen e commissioned eter to tae charge of is oc What an example of wisdom, faithfulness and humility!

Moreover, after sending us to disciple not one, but all the nations – basically a command to go deep into the enemy’s camp – Jesus pledged, “I will never leave you nor forsake you, even to the end of the age.” To make this commitment unshak- able, He assured us that, “Even if you are unfaithful I will remain faithful because I cannot deny myself” (2 Tim.2: 13). He reas- sured us of His loyalty even though He knew that we would often fail Him. To that end He is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us and canceling every accusation of the evil one. He sees every one of our sins, He is aware of our shortcomings, and yet He remains faithful because He is the Ultimate Purah.

Jesus is the Ultimate Purah Nowhere is this expressed more eloquently than when we read that being in the form of God He taught us by example not “to look out for (our) own personal interests, but (especially) for the interests of others...although He existed in the form of God,

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text.indd 14 11/23/06 12:47:21 AM He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8).

Furthermore, at the close of the ages when the nations of the earth, carrying their honor and glory, assemble in God’s presence, He will honor us as the Bride on whom the light of God will shine for eternity, and will present us not with a mere ring but with a city whose gates are pearls and whose pavement is made of gold for us to enjoy. Yes indeed, Jesus, who is older, wiser, and more faithful than we are, on that day will focus all His attention, and the attention of the entire universe, on us. What a precious Purah He is!

Since the healing of the world hangs on the process of turning the hearts of the parents to the children, the sooner it begins the better. We are not going to live a thousand years; and for that matter very few of us will even live to be a hun- dred, so now is the time to realize that life is not about us, but it’s about God, and that God is about generations.

The blessings bestowed so many times in the Bible by calling on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are genera- tional blessings. In such context it is of paramount importance for visionaries and pioneers to intentionally endeavor to spot a Joshua, to call him or her forward, and to declare, “I will mentor you; you will take over and be the one that takes the land.” This is the most diffcult decision for a leader to mae, ut it’s even more so for visionaries because they are the ones

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text.indd 15 11/23/06 12:47:22 AM that saw it when no one else did. They described it when no one believed it existed. They rallied the troops, paid the price, and led a reluctant army to the edge of the Jordan River from where they see that there is a Promised Land indeed. Now that others can see it, the temptation for the visionary to cross the Jordan and possess the land that is meant for his children to inherit, is too great. And it’s at this juncture that he needs to turn his heart towards a Joshua or he will leave behind a monument instead of a legacy.

The Next Battle is Not Yours to Win But Your Children’s hy is it so diffcult for the oner of a company, or the vi- sionary who launched a movement, to yield to younger, less experienced associates? Usually because deep down they say, “I don’t think they are ready yet.” And in most cases they aren’t (according to our standards), but if mentored at the helm they will become ready because they are the ones that the next generation will rally to, not us, because the next battle, which is harder, requires better equipped soldiers that have all we can give them plus what they have that we don’t have.

Elders tend to assume that the future will be a replica of the past, except bigger, and in doing so they miss the point that the baton needs to be passed to a new generation be- cause it is a new battle, one that they should help the young prepare for, ut not fght, much less in for them Learning from Jesus we need to discover the joy of truly, sincerely being able to say to our mentorees, “You will do greater works than me.” Experience from the past does not equate anointing for

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text.indd 16 11/23/06 12:47:22 AM the future. Our achievements will either be the apex or the foundation, but they cannot be both. If the apex, they will reect our highest achievement. If the foundation, they will become our legacy to the next generation to be able to build bigger and better things.

Barnabas is a classic example. He was a highly respected leader in the arly hurch hen aul frst ecame a hris- tian, and after a futile attempt at ministry ed into oscurity while Barnabas remained in leadership. Nevertheless, later on Barnabas went looking for him and at high personal risk brought him to Antioch to help pastor the church he had planted. It was Barnabas’ credibility with the elders in Je- rusalem that made it possile for the frst Gentile church to emerge, undoubtedly a most prestigious congregation since its members became known as Christians, thus coining the name for the movement.

However, soon after, when they went out as missionar- ies, Paul is listed as the leader while Barnabas’ role becomes that of a supporter, a Purah, since without Barnabas’ inter- vention Paul would have died in obscurity.

A Monument Or a Legacy There is a clear difference between a monument and a legacy. A monument is tangible and inert and as such it is frozen in time, pointing to the past. It tells us that someone who is dead did something that we would not be aware of if it were not for the monument itself eing a history enthusiast, I often fnd myself reading plaques at the foot of obscure monuments to people I had no idea existed and who I will have no reason to

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text.indd 17 11/23/06 12:47:22 AM remember once I walk away. Were it not for the monument, I would have never learned about that person. A legacy is quite different. It is transcendent, and as such it is not contained by time because it lives through the ages, propelling us in our journey into the future. We may not be able to pinpoint where its headwaters are, but we are carried downstream by its currents. A legacy is such because it has been bestowed on us, very much like an inheritance because someone who cared bequeathed it to us, allowing us to turn capital we did not work for into a source of enrichment.

Reconciliation and restoration is something supernatural that I am able to facilitate naturally. By this I mean that I don’t have to work at it because it is something that I received by God’s grace and, thanks to my wife Ruth’s contribution, it has become a central part of what we do. Time and again we have walked into extremely volatile situations to be used y God to f them supernaturally in the most natural way, although those that received the eneft no that God as in the picture because of the miraculous results.

It Must Be Caught, Not Taught However, this is not something I learned in school or in semi- nary. It is the result of a legacy whose origin goes back to my early days as a Christian, when I was sixteen years old, to be precise, and had been a believer for just three years. My father was a more recent convert but he had assumed the spiritual leadership of our family. As such, one of the rules that he laid down in no uncertain terms was that we should never criticize our pastor – and when my father laid down a rule there was no way around it. 18

text.indd 18 11/23/06 12:47:23 AM Unfortunately, our pastor was going through a very diffcult season, maing mistaes that impacted some of my friends in the youth group ne summer night I as enjoy- ing argentine tea on our patio with my friends, all teenagers like myself, with my father seated within hearing distance (a better term would be striking distance, as you will soon see). We had just come back from church where things had not gone well with the pastor. In a moment of youthful cockiness I began to vent, and in so doing crossed the line my father had drawn. The words had barely left my lips when I felt my father’s gaze and immediately knew I had made a major mistake. Before coming to the Lord, a hot temper had been his major weakness, and even though the Holy Spirit had een oring on it, e as not fnished yet rom time to time it still ared up, and on this particular night it as to become an erupting volcano. When it did, my father scolded me severely, and to a point mercilessly, in front of my friends with anger marking every one of his words.

What he said was true, but the way he said it humiliated me immensely, and to add insult to injury he commanded me to go to my room without dinner and not to leave the bedroom until he called for me. How embarrassing! Conse- quently I remained in my bedroom without dinner that night or breakfast or lunch the next day. My mother, as mothers often do, snuck me some food for fear that I would starve. I knew my father had been right, but the way he went about it made it very painful. Being sent to the doghouse would have felt better because the prospect of eventually facing my friends with such a bruised ego was more than my fragile psyche could handle. 19

text.indd 19 11/23/06 12:47:23 AM By Kneeling Down He Stood Taller At about 2 PM the next day my mother told me that my father wanted me in the family room. I walked out of my room like a prisoner heading for the gangplank, but when I entered the family room it got worse because all the friends who had witnessed my humiliation the night before were there. Being executed is bad enough, but having your friends in attendance defnitely maes it orse

A sense of dread enveloped me when I looked at my father, but instead of anger I saw deep sorrow in his eyes. There was a long moment of uneasy silence and then he knelt down, and with tears streaming down his face – I had never seen my father cry before – he said, “Son, what you did last night was wrong, but the way I reacted was much worse. I was wrong, and since I humiliated you in front of your friends, I wish to ask for your forgiveness in the same setting. Would you forgive me?”

Never was my father taller in my eyes than when he knelt before his immature, cocky teenage son, and never was I prouder to be called his son than on that day. We both wept unashamedly and embraced and then wept some more.

What my father did that afternoon, at an embryonic level, was to launch a legacy. He taught me in the most ef- fective way that right does not equal might and that it is not enough to do the right thing unless we do it right. As a result, what I do today so well upstreams to that afternoon when my father chose to make such a rich deposit into my life, something that I am determined to replenish day after day

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text.indd 20 11/23/06 12:47:23 AM so our children and our children’s children ill eneft from what my dad bestowed on me. In fact, he acted like a Purah when he chose to stand by me while I was shaking in my boots. And in so doing he enabled me to hear God’s voice for the future.

My Journey I myself have egun a urah journey y journey is defnitely in its infancy, but the fact that I am on it became evident in the context of a city that I felt all along I would be the one God would use to precipitate transformation to. Like the Marines at Io Jima, I had pictured myself as the one planting the ag of transformation on a hill that until moments efore had een an enemy’s stronghold since I had sacrifcially laored and boldly proclaimed the upcoming victory to unwilling audiences, enduring opposition that at times was cruel.

But now, after graciously enduring relentless rejection, I understood that the day of victory was imminent, and that my dreams would indeed come to pass. Like Moses I was able to see it from across the river, at the head of an army that had fnally come to agree ith me It as at that precise moment that the Holy Spirit, with a caveat I was not expect- ing, downloaded on me the teaching on Purah. God said to me, “Someone else will take the city. Your mentoring is crucial to their success but you will not get the public credit. I want you to be a Purah.”

This took place while I was praying with a young couple for this area of the world, a place I felt God had told me I would take. And while I was praying, the Lord said to me,

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text.indd 21 11/23/06 12:47:24 AM “You need to say in your prayers, ‘For Jehovah and for so-and-so,’ and enter the names of this couple. It will not be your name that will be inscribed on the banner when the region is taken, but theirs. Are you willing to do that?”

Willing I was not. I was reluctant to put it mildly, and I fought it, but the presence of the Lord was all over us, so fnally I said, “Yes, I’ll do it,” but it took me three tries to be able to say, “For Jehovah and for…so-and-so,” because when I got to the so-and-so part I couldn’t do it. I just broke down. I felt like Abraham lifting up the knife to slaughter the child that I had waited so long for and had invested so much in, and now that he’s ready to give me something in return, I’m ased to sacrifce him o it too me three tries, ut on the third one I was able to say, “For Jehovah…” and I named their names. When I did it something broke, not only inside of me but in the heavenly places, and at that moment a crown came down from heaven in a vision and rested on my head with the inscription “Elder.” I had become an elder, a true elder, because a true elder is the one whose heart has turned to the younger ones to empower them and to rejoice in their upcoming success.

It’s important for us to give up our dreams at the right moment. It shouldn’t be rushed. There is a right moment and there are many wrong moments, so discerning that right moment is key, but when in doubt, let us move sooner rather than later because doing so will put us in a new place in God’s league.

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text.indd 22 11/23/06 12:47:24 AM God’s Hall of Friends As I was meditating on what happened when I yielded what I had worked so hard for to someone younger, the Lord took me to the passage in James 2:23 where Abraham is called a friend of God. To be listed in the Bible as God’s friend is quite a statement! All of us would love to be considered God’s friend; not just a friend, but the friend of God. What did Abraham do to merit it?

The Lord pointed out to me that Abraham had a very precious thing in common with Him: both chose to give up their son. God gave Jesus on the cross; He grieved as He saw evil men hurting His body, torturing Him. God watched the agony of His Son and saw him descend to the dark pit of death. Likewise Abraham also witnessed his own son’s death; even though he never drove the knife downward, in his mind the knife was already in Isaac’s heart because he had been drowning in a sea of grief anticipating such moment.

When we give up control to enable others, when we empower the next generation by transferring our wisdom to them, not to get a personal return but to make them successful without expecting recognition, we are passing something on to them that we cannot possibly keep past our deathbed. And above everything else, when we rejoice that they will increase while we decrease, at that moment we are transferred, albeit privately, up to a higher level. Such is the moment when we become God’s friends!

Are you ready to become a Purah to the Gideon God has placed in your immediate sphere of inuence I underline

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text.indd 23 11/23/06 12:47:24 AM the word immediate because it is very easy to be a Purah to those removed from us, but the real test is to empower the ones that will take over from us, noing that they ill go farther, y higher, and reach deeper because they are starting from a higher point. When we do this God admits us to this very select club – the Club of His friends – and the admission ticket is our decision to give up our child for someone else to raise it as their own. The choice is between a job well done that will stand as a monument to our accomplishments, and a legacy that will turn our actions into a platform for others to succeed in a greater fashion.

The choice becomes compelling if we realize that life is not about us but about God, and God is about others. I close with this simple but momentous exhortation: Just do it!

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text.indd 24 11/23/06 12:47:24 AM