This last week, I began a new ‘trip around the sun’ as they say. I celebrated another birthday. It seems like those new trips occur every six months these days instead of every twelve. Can I get a witness?
What comes strongly to mind for me this year is the perspective of ‘generations’. One generation follows another. One generation passes on while another comes on the scene. You and I are somewhere on this continuum – just beginning, then strengthening, then maturing, and then nearing ‘home’. I was reminded of this when a good friend of ours spoke of caring for an elderly parent in Boston early this week and then later this week journeying to Augusta, GA to visit a one-year-old granddaughter. The perspective of generations should prompt some searching questions.
1. What gratitude do I owe the generation(s) before me? Most of us are greatly blessed of God to have been born into our families of origin. They protected, loved, and provided for us. And many of us received a heritage of Christian faith from them. Expressing our thanks frequently to our parents and grandparents is always appropriate.
2. Have I truly realized the ‘brevity of life’? In his epistle James says, Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14) It probably requires many ‘trips around the sun’ for this to register with us. When we’re young, life seems to go on forever. But as we age, we marvel at ‘where the time has gone’. Each day we live is a blessing. How we steward it is crucial.
3. How does God want me investing in the generation(s) following me? Our children and grandchildren generally outlive us. We also have influence with these generations in our church’s ministries. This provides the opportunity for our lives to have impact for Christ beyond our time on earth and even for eternity. Many of us remember the person who led us to Christ and the persons who helped us grow spiritually. We too want to love Jesus, love His Word, love His Church, love lost souls, and love making disciples. Teaching and modeling these ‘love-values’ are the best investments of our lives.
One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4)
Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Cecil Sanders