Potential epitaph: Very old but very relevant?
I’d like this to be my epitaph [one day].
The trouble that we all have is that we are inevitably children of our time. My parents struggle to understand the things that define my generation and similarly (even though I am young still) I am occasionally baffled by the zeitgeist of the generation below me. It’s unavoidable.
We have so many young people (well, younger than me) in our church who are totally on fire for God. Their passion is endlessly inspiring, however one thing they lack [unavoidably] is time. While they mature in many aspects of their faith so fast, there are some aspects which have to take time to develop.
Because of these ‘generation gaps’ it is perceived by both older and younger generations that one does not relate to the other; they occupy different worlds. But that is simply not the case. If our lives are based upon the truth that Jesus is the only way to salvation then we will always be relevant. We not have a clue what the kid’s are talking about when they throw the words “gansta” and “pirate” but because of the truth burning within us we are dangerously relevant.
Check out what happened when a young (probably still teenagers) couple brought their baby son to the temple for the first time:
[When Simeon had finished prophesying over the child] Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, “This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, a figure misunderstood and contradicted — the pain of a sword-thrust through you — But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.
Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem. Luke 2:33-38 (Msg)
How old was Anna?! She was older than anyone in my church and yet she was dangerously relevant to the current generation because she was in tune with God; she recognised the Messiah even though he was helplessly reliant on his teenage mother. People who have grown closer and more intimate with God as they have grown old will spot God at work when no-one else is aware of it.
By the time I am too old to move around by myself I would like to be dangerously relevant to society. I want to be so close to God that I would see tears welling up in the eyes of young people talking to me because they hear the very voice of Jesus whispering under my own aged tones.
This is a desire that all Christians have shared, but it costs [our lives]:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him…” Phil 3:10
The trouble that we all have is that we are inevitably children of our time. My parents struggle to understand the things that define my generation and similarly (even though I am young still) I am occasionally baffled by the zeitgeist of the generation below me. It’s unavoidable.
We have so many young people (well, younger than me) in our church who are totally on fire for God. Their passion is endlessly inspiring, however one thing they lack [unavoidably] is time. While they mature in many aspects of their faith so fast, there are some aspects which have to take time to develop.
Because of these ‘generation gaps’ it is perceived by both older and younger generations that one does not relate to the other; they occupy different worlds. But that is simply not the case. If our lives are based upon the truth that Jesus is the only way to salvation then we will always be relevant. We not have a clue what the kid’s are talking about when they throw the words “gansta” and “pirate” but because of the truth burning within us we are dangerously relevant.
Check out what happened when a young (probably still teenagers) couple brought their baby son to the temple for the first time:
[When Simeon had finished prophesying over the child] Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, “This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, a figure misunderstood and contradicted — the pain of a sword-thrust through you — But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.
Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem. Luke 2:33-38 (Msg)
How old was Anna?! She was older than anyone in my church and yet she was dangerously relevant to the current generation because she was in tune with God; she recognised the Messiah even though he was helplessly reliant on his teenage mother. People who have grown closer and more intimate with God as they have grown old will spot God at work when no-one else is aware of it.
By the time I am too old to move around by myself I would like to be dangerously relevant to society. I want to be so close to God that I would see tears welling up in the eyes of young people talking to me because they hear the very voice of Jesus whispering under my own aged tones.
This is a desire that all Christians have shared, but it costs [our lives]:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him…” Phil 3:10
posted by Andrew at 9:34 pm
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