We are a generation of skeptics.
We are groomed to critique, to criticize to
filter everything that comes our way.
We
like proof especially for that which seems outlandish or improbable.
For that which has no logical proof we appreciate
testimony and validation.
We know from
our own experience that truth is gleaned through experience.
We (sometimes foolishly) allow our emotions
to dictate that which we accept as truth because what we experience cannot be
denied.
If this scares you, it should.
A generation that defines truth by the way it
feels can be flighty and manipulated.
Our response is an intense distrust toward things which advertise
themselves to be truth.
We are much more
willing to accept a friend’s recommendation than a stranger’s logical
proof.
Why?
Because experience, results, promises of
happiness, etc. are much firmer validations of truth than fact (at least in our
own minds).
When we relate, we operate in a community that values
individual experience.
An underlying
acceptance of each other’s unique circumstances and emotions lies at the root
of our relationships.
This tolerance (in
general) gives us a reason to trust one another.
The message of the Gospel, as a strictly
intolerant message (though grace-filled), is counter-cultural to everything we
value.
To hear that Christ is the only
way, the standard by which all truth is measured etc. is threatening to our existence
and condemning to those who have not experienced such truth or choose to rebel
against the oppressive nature of such mandates.
The role of the Holy Spirit has become more and more
critical as His supernatural work changes the hearts of those in my generation
to experience the true life offered by Christ’s message.
The role of Christian peers in my generation
has also risen to a critical status.
To my Christian peers: the unbelieving of our generation
need us.
They need our stories, testimonies,
evidence of our emotional experience that Christ is worth their
consideration.
They need a reason to see
beyond the “intolerance” of the Gospel to see the life that is available.
They need time to see Christ work in you;
they need to see a counter-cultural love and Christian acceptance of who they
are come from your mouth and your actions.
They need to see the freedom through the perceived oppression and
experience true life.
It’s time to see beyond ourselves – a feat which, in and of
itself, is counter-cultural.
Christ said
to love God above all and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Ask God for the vision to see beyond the end
of your own nose and see others for who they are: beloved by God.
It’s time to stop asking where God is and why
He would allow travesty, depression and suffering to touch the world and start
asking why, with a completely able-bodied church and body of believers, more
are not working for the betterment of the kingdom and the care of those
distanced from the loving arms of our Father.
It’s our generation’s turn to stop working against the system and start
making the system work for us.
