Sharing a home with three girls over the last 20 years has meant that I’ve watched my fair share of Disney animated movies. Recently, we watched Into the Unknown: Making of Frozen II. It was a fascinating six-part series that took the audience through the detailed and lengthy process of creating Frozen II. One thing that grabbed my attention was that it took 400 people over 9 years to create both Frozen I and Frozen II. This struck me because it seemed like such a dedicated, committed team working tirelessly for years to create something as seemingly simple as an animated movie. Yet, these films have had a profound impact on the hearts and minds of young people. Very few people in the world would fail to recognize Elsa, Anna, and Olaf. Thanks to the teamwork, hard work, and vision of the creators, Frozen became an incredible success, with the Frozen movies becoming the highest-grossing Disney films of all time by 2022.
As much as I enjoyed the Frozen movies and the series The Making of Frozen, it also served as a convicting reminder. If the creators of Frozen were so committed to working for 9 years, putting in long hours, and being teachable and flexible in their opinions and desires—all for a 90-minute animated film—why can’t the Body of Christ be just as intentional about pointing the next generation to Christ? Imagine what could happen if parents, along with church and school leaders, came together during the most formative years of kids’ lives and were just as intentional with the message and truth of Jesus Christ. Imagine if they didn’t care about the hours involved, didn’t care about who received the credit, and didn’t mind digging deeper and working harder, as long as it produced biblical fruit in their kids.
What if, instead of 9 years, we had roughly 18 years to influence future generations for Christ? What if we were able to teach and mold our children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
God has always used people to accomplish His will. Here are a few examples of those He used over the years:
- God brought Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch to reveal the truth and lead him to a better understanding of God’s Word (Acts 8:26-40).
- God used Moses, even though he doubted his abilities and tried to avoid his calling (Exodus 3:11-12).
- God used Paul, who was once a persecutor of Christians, to spread the gospel after his conversion (Acts 9:1-19).
- God used Andrew, a humble man, to bring his brother Peter to Jesus (John 1:40-42). Peter then became a bold witness and leader in the early church.
- God even used Pharaoh, despite his rejection of God, to accomplish His will (Exodus 9:16).
The list goes on: Abraham, Ruth, Esther, Rahab, David, Samuel, Solomon, and many others. None of them were perfect. Some failed, yet God used them to accomplish His purposes. God uses a variety of people, with different gifts, talents, and personalities, to do His work.
As we consider those who could influence the lives of young people—teachers, coaches, pastors, and other key influencers—we must be certain that the utmost care is given to ensuring that they know and live out biblical truth.
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