The reason why I am so reminiscent of these meetings is because the new series we're going through in church is called "I Believe in You" and today's segment was "The Emerging Generation" namely, my generation, the young adults. Pastor spoke right to us, describing the ups and downs of our generation and the overwhelming potential we hold as a group. There is a specific verse, which was brought to my attention years ago, but every now and then crops up in my life and always leaves me evaluating what I'm really doing. The verse is 1 Timothy 4:12--"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." Regardless of my own reasons for why this makes me evaluate things, this verse can either be encouraging or disheartening. As a young adult, you feel empowered knowing your age doesn't make the strength of your faith. On the other hand, some may clutch to their age as an excuse to avoid responsibilities for their actions or as an excuse for their ineptitude to do what the verse describes. Pastor followed this with something else that stayed with me (I'm putting this in quotes, but I may be a word or two off--I'm sure anyone will really care, but grad school keeps my brain in constant citation mode...) he said, "Don't let anyone talk you out of your mission--God has made you for a time such as this." I've always believed that we're here for a reason and we each have a specific mission which we have to more or less figure out as we go, but every now and then having a reaffirmation of that is like getting water thrown in your face. As we trudge through all the stresses, worries, ups, downs, and in-betweens of life we forget that God has chosen us specifically, placed us in this exact moment of life, knows precisely our pasts and futures--and all things compiled, He has certain things in mind for us to do that we are 100% perfectly made for. Basically, the way I feel about it is if you're still breathing, there is still more He wants you to accomplish in life. After the monotony of life kicks in, a fresh reminder of that is wonderful; you have a reason for being, you are specifically designed for something, you still have the best coming to you because you haven't fulfilled your life's purpose. How humbling and empowering is that?
Anyway, I guess the point of this post is to appeal to my peers. Like I said, Pastor outlines the good and bad of our generation, and while I completely agree with the flaws he mentioned, there is encouragement in what he deemed our greatest strength: "[We] are the most cause-driven, mission-minded generation in modern history." Doesn't that make you want to get off your couch and prove that true? If I could've hopped a plane to South America, Africa, China, Japan or anywhere else at that very moment to help fulfill my mission I would have (granted I may be a bit biased with the "jump-up-and-go" thing, but you get the idea I'm going for). We are fully capable of just about anything! Our generation has had everything laid out for us on a silver platter and we're probably the laziest/least willing to live up to our full potential yet! I realize I'm generalizing here, but I'm trying to make a point. We (myself included) need to stop making excuses and start making progress. We have a mission; we're called, in one way or another to do it; don't let the luxuries of this world rob you of that...
No comments:
Post a Comment