After attending a quick one-day conference, in which one of the questions that was fielded to a group of older (40+ year olds) Christian pastors and leaders in Southern California, was about what the older generation wanted see raised from the younger generation of believers, thoughts raced in my mind about what the younger generation would instead love to see from the older generation.
And I’m sorry to say, but wisdom, is not one of them.
I speak as one who is transitioning. I speak as one who still has in heart the possibility of making the youths in our churches radical disciples for Jesus, while still trying to be one myself.
And I write, if you are an ‘older’ reading, to perhaps show what type of role model your children, or those just younger than you, would love to see as a quality of a role-model for following Jesus.
What I believe the younger generation of believers need to see from their parents, their pastors, their elders, the older families in their churches, etc… is an actual passion for the man Jesus Christ.
They need to see older people going hard after God. They need to see someone over the age of 30 who is actually passionate about their faith. They need to see that at age 40, your walk with Jesus still excites you. They need to see that at 50 you can still be filled with the Spirit and dance and praise Jesus with all your heart.
They need to see that His presence is all-satisfying in every age and in every stage of life.
They need to see that the older are still hungry for the Word. That they are still trying to connect with the Lord in the place of prayer and fasting. They need to see that they are not dulled, bored and listless with life.
Their wisdom is great, please share more.
But to hear it from someone who still truly delights in the law of the Lord is invigorating. To hear it from someone who still makes child-like decisions for Jesus is inspiring. To hear it from someone who is ready to go into the slums of the world for the kingdom of God is unbelievably forming.
They need to know there is an emotional heartbeat in going before the Lord. They need to know that a mature prayer life is not just one comprised of well-thought sentences and sound doctrine. They need to see a King David praying Psalm 51 and seeking with all his/her heart! They need to see the fruit of decades of a person who is committed to loving Jesus with all his/her heart, mind, and soul!
The older generation would form Christ in their young if they could show them this! That Christ is still worth and fun pursuing when young ones get to their age.
