by Elder Johnny Kim

One of the cooler things I get to witness as a parent is how my children gradually grow and develop. It’s particularly interesting to realize how they grow to become more and more independent from us as their parents. As newborn babies and infants, they are initially dependent on us for everything. They need us to feed them, to bathe them, to clothe them, and to pick them up to move them from one spot to another. But as they get older, some of the things that would have been impossible for them to accomplish apart from us, they start gaining the ability to do all by themselves. Before we know it, we find that our children can finally feed themselves, go to the bathroom by themselves, and dress themselves among other things.

As children physically grow and mature, it’s natural that they would grow in their independence as well. In fact, part of our job as parents is to train and equip our children to be self-sufficient with respect to practical matters. Yet while we might desire for them to cultivate a greater independence in certain aspects of life, our chief desire should be that spiritually, they would grow to be completely dependent on the one true and living God who is sovereign over all things. Likewise, when it comes to the youth of our church, our desire ought to be that they would constantly grow in their dependence on God to the point that they would live in light of the truth that apart from Him, they can do nothing. At the same time that we cultivate a practical independence, we are cultivating a far greater and more important dependence; a dependence that acknowledges that we always have a desperate need for God regardless of who we are or what we’ve accomplished.

In a culture and society that promotes and values independence and self-reliance, dependence is a biblical principle that stands opposed, but a biblical principle nonetheless. While the world would tell our youth that they can always pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, we must remind our youth that God alone can rescue us and provide us with refuge (Matthew 11:28-30). While the world would tell our youth that sheer determination is a powerful force, we must remind our youth that there is no power greater than our God (Psalm 145:1-3). While the world would tell our youth that they can accomplish anything by themselves so long as they set their mind to it, we must remind our youth that they are insufficient in and of themselves (John 15:5).

Youth often find themselves at a pivotal stage in life with new found independence and liberties. Yet in the midst of these things, our hope as a ministry is that they would recognize an active and ongoing dependence on God for all things. The One who created the universe and everything in it is the One who gives us all breath (Job 34:14-15). We not only depend on Him for our very lives, but for all the lesser things as well.