Generational Amnesia

A good friend posted something today on his Facebook feed that caught my eye and got me thinking. He wrote that Judges 2:10 was on his mind. It reads, "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." He called it "one of the most tragic verses in the Bible" and wonder why he was dwelling upon it. I also find it very tragic indeed and see much of the modern reality of this passage. I have perhaps a unique take on this.

I was not raised in church. In fact, I worked for "the other guy" pretty openly. I was a reprobate in every sense of the word and fully steeped in the occult. When Jesus got hold of me at the age of twenty-four, I experienced the complete turn around promised in the Gospel. My foul language, drinking, and smoking went away almost immediately with no real effort. Temptations into my past lifestyle faded with time and I experienced the freedom that comes from walking with Christ. Like most baby followers of Jesus, I was on fire for the Lord and full of excitement and enthusiasm.

As the honeymoon period with the church began to pass, I started to make some observations about the people around me. Most of the people in the pews my age were raised in the church. They sang songs, went to Sunday School, and did all the right things. They were doing everything they knew to do save they lacked one thing; passion. There was no fire in their bellies for the Gospel nor any desire for the deeper things of God. As I looked, I saw little more passion in the elder people of the church. Almost all of them had been in church their entire lives and couldn't imagine anything else. They were wonderful, loving, and kind people, but their hearts did not burn with the love of Christ. Each generation was less enthusiastic than the one before and few had ever had their faith tested in the fires of adversity.

Having been outside of the love of God for most of my life, I never understood how anyone could not be passionately in love with Jesus and enthusiastic about following Him with every fiber of his being. I began to notice that most of those who were the most passionate and loving were those who had come to Jesus as adults. To paraphrase Luke 7:47, those who have been forgiven much love much. I came up with a term for those who were raised in church and had no fire. I called them "Legacy Christians." In fact, I still use that term as a matter of prayer.

Now, as an adult returning to college for additional education, I am surrounded by the children of my generation. Many of these young people were raised in church, a few even still go. The passionless faith of their parents has left them with no real experience of the reality of the Living God and His love, mercy, and power. With a few exceptions, any connection to Jesus or His church has little to no impact on their lives. The distinctions between Christian and non-Christian youth are few if there are any evident at all. They watch the same shows, listen to the same music, and wear the same immodest clothing. As I said, there are exceptions to this, but the generation coming into their own now does not know the Lord or what He has done.

I believe that this passage describes a generational process. After observing the church for the last several years, I believe that this actually took about three to four generations. If it was with Israel as it is now, then each generation lost a portion of the passion and faith of the one before. The grandchildren or possibly the great grandchildren of that first generation were the ones that forgot the Lord because the faith of their parents was dry.

I do not blame the young for where they are. It was and remains the responsibility of the elder generations to train up and mentor the younger. To do that, we need our passion ignited once again so that Jesus is the absolute center of who we are and it is Him they see when they look at us. Remember all that the Lord has done for you and how much He has forgiven you. Demonstrate the power of prayer. Read the Word of God with gusto. Worship with all your heart. Love all of the brethren regardless of race, financial status, or denomination with all of your heart. If we do this, then we will experience the real presence of God, His power, holiness, and grace in a way that the younger generations cannot help but see.

9/11 Remembered and a Lesson for The Church

Today marks eight years since the towers fell, the Pentagon burned, and a field in Pennsylvania was the sight of heroism and tragedy. On that day and in the days that followed we were not Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, or even Greens. We were just Americans and we were hurting. The shared loss of life that day from an act of pure aggression and evil brought this country together like it has not been since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Through the tears of grief, the unity of spirit was amazing and beautiful to behold. I remember each detail of that day and those that followed with a clarity of memory that can only come from a great emotional connection. I can even tell you what color shirt I was wearing.

Through the months that followed, the nation turned to her traditional faith, the Church of Jesus Christ, for hope, comfort, and a sense of community. Attendance swelled from around thirty-five percent to over seventy. We prayed, we tried to teach, and we sang songs. We did everything we knew to do to try to bring that comfort and hope.

Unfortunately, those people found no comfort in our liturgies nor in our cliches. When they came seeking the reality of God, many did not find it. Not only did we lose all of our gains, but lost a large percentage of those who were already in our pews. Regular weekly attendance dropped from thirty-five percent of the population to less than thirty. I can't speak to all the failings, but I can say with utter conviction that we were not ready.

I have often thought about how things would have been different if we were spiritually prepared for this calamity. We are victims of our own prosperity and comfort. For far too long, the church has grown fat on the wealth and relative ease of life in the United States. We do not have the spiritual muscles that come from adversity and real trials. Many individuals do, but the church as a whole needs a spiritual exercise program. We are the chosen vessel for the only real source of hope in the world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must be ready to express the full power of the love of God and bring the light of hope into hopeless and dark situations.

I fully expect another major disaster to strike this country. I do not know what form it will take, whether it be a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or other tragedy we do not even expect. Before that happens, let's really start to build up our muscles with real discipline and obedience to the Spirit of the Living God. When the calamity comes, I hope and pray with all my might that we are ready.