The Next Generation...

Matthew 24:34
I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

As a geek, there are few things as world changing as the advent of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It forever split all trekkies into two camps: those who thought the next generation would never live up to the originals, and those who believed that the next generation would be the one which would make Star Trek relevant to a more mainstream audience (stop me if you know where I'm going here...).

"I hear the sound of a rising generation." Shannon on Friday eloquently talked about how we are the generation of choice. We can either choose to usher in the generation that changes the world, or we can BE that generation.

I think that sometimes our theology is a bit twisted around the whole ideas of generations... yes it means father to son, mother to daughter, and so on, but nowadays we count the generations in terms of some kind of arbitary 20 year period. What is with that? Isn't it weird?

While we are living and breathing, we will be part of this generation. So I guess that explains what my opinion is of the verse above. We are the rising generation. God has assigned tasks for you and I to do, and until we do them, this generation will not pass away. Are we going to leave the work assigned to us for future generations?

How does that relate to youth? Well, I guess it means that it doesn't mean if you are really young, or really old, we are still relevant. We only need to look to our leadership team for proof that age does not dictate a youthful spirit, nor attitude, nor enthusiasm, nor any other factor. I don't have to be the circumstances that raised me. My age does not dictate who I am. It does not dictate what I am capable of.

And like the movie Star Trek: Generations, we are stronger when we work together. And we get to ride in a kick a** vehicle on the way (yes I did just compare the local church to the Starship Enterprise... WARP SPEED!). If we aren't already united, then I pray that God make it so (oh my gosh, I can't believe I made such a bad joke after a good post...)

I refuse to grow old gracefully. Beam me up Scotty.