Jump Start # 1531

Ecclesiastes 1:4 “A generation goes and a generation comes, but  the earth remains forever.”

  Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, in his opening thoughts looks at the endless cycles of unchanging events. Generations come and go. The sun rises and sets. The wind blows this way and then that way. Rivers continually flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. Over and over and over again. Life seems the same. These thoughts sets the course for Solomon’s pursuit of what life is all about. These thoughts can seem depressing. It can lead one to thinking, “What’s the use.”

I want to explore the “generation goes and a generation comes” concept. We see this at holidays and family gatherings. The little kids run through the house, the parents talk about the trials of parenting and the grandparents take a nap on the couch. Generations. We move from that child to the adult to the parent to the grandparent. That’s the natural flow of life.

Each generation faces it’s own unique challenges. Some things are unique to a generation. When my father, who is in his nineties now, was a child, parents worried about polio. They don’t today. Getting to the hospital was a real concern in rural 1920’s. It’s not today. Things happened on the other side of the planet and the news didn’t reach those small communities until months later. Today, it’s within minutes and we know what is going on anywhere in the world. Few had phones. Most homes in rural communities did not have electricity nor indoor plumbing. In some ways, the generations seem so different. However, under the surface, families were concerned about their children, jobs, and spiritually, our relationship with God. This is where each generation is the same.

Sermons preached by the apostles could and are still preached today. Times change, but man hasn’t. Now all of this reminds us of some simple thoughts.

First, each generation will have their own questions. Some of these questions may be unique to the times and that generation, but there are fundamental concerns, questions that need to be answered. Questions such as, “Did God really write the Bible?” or, “Did God create the world?” sounds so basic to many of us, but these are on the front of the minds of a younger generation. Simple questions about salvation, God’s church, our responsibility to the Lord, fellowship, judgment and what happens when a person dies, must be taught and looked at.

Here is where the generations can clash. One generation feels that they know the answers. They have already asked them and looked at them, and found the Biblical answers. Everyone ought to know the answers to these thoughts, is how they see it. But for another generation, they don’t know the answers. They haven’t been taught.

It is important for preachers and teachers to continually return to the fundamentals. A new generation needs to learn. They need to know. The older generation may grow impatient with these type of lessons. They have been through them many times. Yet, it’s the next generation that must be taught. The challenge that every congregation faces is feeding and teaching multiple generations. One generation must be patient while things they know are being taught. However, if fundamentals are the only things that are preached and taught, then the older, more learned generation, doesn’t move on in knowledge and faith. That’s the challenge.

High school and college students are asking questions that deserve honest answers. They also need to learn how to study and find answers. They need to learn how to grow and be strong. Many congregations are now putting a lot of thought into what is being taught and are trying to make things tailor made for each generation. Just studying Mark because the quarter before we studied Matthew isn’t necessarily the best plan to have. Always teaching verse by verse, chapter by chapter, may not be the best way to look at things.   Stepping back and seeing how everything fits together, understanding the overall theme is challenging but valuable to know.

Secondly, as a generation goes, they ought to leave things better for the next generation. This too, has been a problem. In some places, the generation that is going has not made things better. The next generation comes into a situation that is depressing and discouraging. For those who are not strong in their faith, that’s all it takes for them to leave. They see the spiritual problems of the former generation, and they want no part of that. So off they go, chasing ideas and feelings and their journey can take them far from the Lord.

We must strive to leave the place better than we found it. We must strive to make the church stronger than we found it. This takes steady teaching and teaching. This means folks need to step up and take on responsibilities, if not just for the present, but to lay the path for the future. So many congregations today are lacking spiritual leadership. So many congregations are struggling. So many congregations seem to be stuck on auto pilot. Do they see and sense what they are handing the next generation. Is this the way things ought to be?

It’s time for my generation to step it up. We need to be doing our best. We need to pull together and strengthen the congregation. We are handing to the next generation a platform to stand upon.

Last evening we had a sweet soul commit her life to the Lord. She’s young. I wondered as I watched her, what this church will be like when she reaches my age. Will it be this large? Will it even be here? Will it be powerful and making a difference in the community? Will it still be following the Lord? The answers to many of those questions are found in what my generation is doing now. The choices we make. The battles we fight. Where we put our priorities. How serious we are. How strong we are. All of those things will impact where we are down the road.

It’s the choices of today that determine tomorrow. The guy that wants to get in shape, but sits on the couch eating a box of donuts isn’t going to get there. The person that wants to retire comfortably, but is spending all of his paycheck each week, isn’t going to get there. A congregation that wants to be strong and faithful tomorrow, but is spending most of it’s time fussing and fighting isn’t going to get there.

A generation goes and a generation comes…The going generation is handing things over to the coming generation. How are we doing with that? Are we leaving things better than we found them?

It may be time to make some adjustments and get back to what really matters.

Roger