Some of the people I owe profound respect to in this life are soldiers. These men and women risk their own lives so that their countrymen have uninterrupted peace.
Soldiers are no different from the human beings that you and I are. However, they shed their own blood as a sacrifice that freedom and justice may prevail back at home.
These people selflessly stand in a gap that not many are willing to fill.
I have come to deeply understand and appreciate that every generation has had to pay the price such that those after them may enjoy the fruit of justice, education, shelter and peace.
Someone has actually written before that, “You are able to enjoy the beautiful shade because someone hundreds of years ago planted a tree.”
The book of Romans 5:8 does tell us that, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Both quotations challenge us to take responsibility, sacrifice our time and all other pleasures for the good of others.
Through our youth ministry, Pacesetters’ Initiative for Africa, we challenge, inspire and raise young people to be the change that they want to see in their world.
Our impact pivots on challenging the youth to step out as examples in society because we believe you cannot expect others to be what you are not. We envision a generation of youth that is willing to take a bold stand in the gap for their families and their own communities.
We challenge them to pray for their governments, render help to their peers, be counselors to fellow youth and take up responsibility when opportunity knocks.
The future of our nation rests in our hands and we just cannot wait till we are thirty and above for us to make a lasting difference. No! It all starts now.
While we may not be at the apex of our nation’s leadership positions, we can actually affect the affairs of the day by standing in the gap through prayer and speaking into lives of various young people with hope and love.
I have always dreamed of a world where youth help youth, and these very young people play significant roles in the development of their nations.
Let the youth wake up to the honest truth that without them there is no sane future for their communities. Youth standing, we shall see a totally new world with new innovations, inventions and a difference in the way we do business here.
But above all, I seek to see a generation of youth whose intentions and aspirations are rooted in the word of God. Will you stand in the gap?
Written by Dusabe Peter
