Reflections from a Side View Window

As of late I have found myself absolutely distraught when I listen to any type of music secular of christian. This is a little more than just merely upsetting see, I was driving back from Fort Collins yesterday listening to the XM station's top twenty countdown you know getting to know my culture better and I started crying during a rap song and getting all emotional about just how things are so broken. There are like four songs that don't make me sad or frustrated as of late. What gives? I have found myself frankly just so distraught at how broken America is in every single facet.

See, I was listening to this sermon the other day while driving around fort Collins by the head of the Great Commission Churches about his thoughts as an older man on our generation. It was really illuminating. I think we probably should be doing that as young people more often asking older wiser men about our generation and their thoughts on it because it gave me a sobering reality of what our generation really is like.

But I believe the concept and reason I got so emotional on my way back goes further and deeper into the idea of different generations coming together in accountability in discipleship and holding each other up to a standard of actually growing and moving and unity.

The man who spoke the sermon was saying that he would be scared to death to not come out of his quiet times without having something to share that the spirit illuminated because he experienced this thing where everyone held each other completely accountable. 1 Peter 5:5 and this concept of how much responsibility a younger man should have in the things he places over him in order that he may grow has given me a lot of insight into these afore mentioned things.

While reading through the comments on my pastors blog he quoted an odd translation known as GOD's Word translation.

GOD's Word translates 1 Peter 5:5 this way:

Young people, in a similar way, place yourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders. Furthermore, all of you must serve each other with humility, because God opposes the arrogant but favors the humble.

What I would take from this is that young men are to literally ask for older men to instruct them disciple them etc. This doesn't line up with the rest of the new testament though as I see it and that is why I was so puzzled to see it translated that way. But my infant like grasp of hermeneutics and understanding of the way to interpret and understand scripture though makes me wonder if this was merely a societal issue of respect or the way things were at the time.

I was talking to my mom back when I was in high school and she said something very peculiar she said " you guys( referring to my generation) have a grasp on scripture and understand so much more than I ever did at your age."

I am led to believe that there is this really peculiar thing about the generations that walk the earth. The younger are in some cases wiser than the older. Keep in mind I said some cases.

It leads me to believe that if men in our society are afraid to interact with younger men which I do see on both ends then it is the charge of the younger to bridge that gap and "place yourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders."

I asked my discipler the last time we met. "Is there any last wise words to impart". He said this "seek out discipleship." He believed in a lot of ways that it was the charge of the younger men.

For a long time I have held to the view that God provides and does all the work. This is deeply rooted in the gift of wisdom He has given me. I understand history so well and what God has done that I believe it is only by God. Bur more so I am afraid of what God is doing and I need to learn to trust myself to be different than what I really would classify as 19 centuries of failure and God's faithfulness in keeping it still going.

What I see God doing is something different than all the history I understand so well. I believe it is time that certain long kept ways of doing things are turned on their heads and perhaps the younger take more initiative in their spiritual states with a proper understanding of their generation.

To His Glory,
JG