O Mature, Arise!

We recently introduced a new song at church called O Church Arise. The last line of this song says, "As saints of old still line the way retelling triumphs of His grace, we hear their call and hunger for the day when with Christ we stand in glory." This phrase made me think about the "saints of old," what they do and what they should do. Though I realize that this song is probably referring to saints that have preceded us in death, I think the application could be made to living saints. I am not going to expound on a song, it simply made me think "What is the responsibility of the older saints toward the younger?"
Moses commanded the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6:6, 7, "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Paul wrote to Titus, "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husband, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." (Titus 2:3-5) I think that this concept of the older generation teaching the younger should be applied to men as well.
The point that I am trying to make is in application to how our older saints teach and encourage our younger saints. Often, rather than encouraging new and younger Christians to behave in godly ways, the older Christians criticize and complain about the younger Christians. Often the comment is that the younger Christians are too worldly. This is a true assessment, young Christians are worldly by virtue of the fact that they are young and untrained in the ways of godliness. Saying that a young Christian is worldly is like saying a baby cannot walk. What good is complaining and criticizing going to do? Babies will not learn to walk unless they are taught with patience and love, so a young Christian will not embrace godliness unless they are mentored with patience and love.
I think that the Bible teaches the concept of mentoring. The older Christians who are overcoming the world should mentor the younger Christians who are still struggling through it. I am not saying that the older Christian needs to be perfect, but that they need to be mature. They also need to be willing to accept the young Christian as they are without criticism, affirm their growth without condemning their immaturity, and challenge further growth with patience.
We cannot change the worldliness of young Christians unless we encourage them to focus their heart and lives on the Savior. Mentoring does not allow for complaints and criticism, it requires encouragement and challenges. Rather than saying, "A real Christian wouldn't talk that way!" Maybe we should encourage the younger Christian to consider that the way he talks is a reflection on our Savior. The great challenge for the mentor is to live up to the standards that he wants to inspire in his disciple.
Yes, I used the word disciple. That is what the younger Christians are, disciples of any mature Christian who is willing to teach them. Younger Christians hunger for a mature believer to come along side them and show them how to live out the life to which Christ has called us. Unfortunately, I fear that many older Christians are too busy occupying themselves with criticism. Where will the younger Christians go for support and encouragement? They will go to anyone who will accept them, even if the one who accepts them is a wolf in sheeps clothing seeking to lead them astray. I wonder how many Christians who could have had a great witness became useless in the witness because no mature believer came along side them to teach them, because they found acceptance from a wolf, and because they were led astray into false doctrine and empty deception. Now they are worthless as witnesses for God because they do not have a relationship with Him in any meaningful way. If only the godly, mature believer had stood up and mentored that young Christian, how would his life, ministry, and church been different?