May the mumbling commence!
When do people come of age? When is someone seasoned enough to lead? I have heard some people talk about thirty or thereabouts. That benchmark seems to be true of those who were acceptable for service in the Tabernacle. Read the recurring verse from Numbers chapter four:
Count all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who qualify to work in the Tabernacle. (Verses 3; 23; 30; 35; 39; 43; 47)
It seems there is a pattern here, doesn’t it? There is a coming of age at about thirty. Sure, a thirteen-year-old is considered an adult… but maturity for leadership does not blossom until age thirty.
Maybe we need to consider this point when we think about ministering to that age group from eighteen to twenty-nine. These young men and women are still in the formation stage of adulthood – where patterns will be developed that will continue for the rest of their lives. It is an important time.
This important formative time makes the missing twenty and thirty-something’s in the church even more distressing. What call can we send out to connect with the young adult crowd? It is an important question to answer if the church will remain healthy for the long term. Each generation needs to solve this puzzle anew.
It is in the twenties and thirties when people adopt for themselves their own spirituality. So, what will bring these young people back into relationship with the church? Jesus has opened the way to God. What will make this way attractive to young adults? Read from Mark chapter fifteen:
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a stick so he could drink. "Leave him alone. Let's see whether Elijah will come and take him down!" he said.
Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God!" (Verses 33-39)
In the deepest and darkest valley of the crucifixion, Jesus quotes from Psalm twenty-two. Even from in that deepest and darkest valley – though he could not see the presence of the Father – Jesus was sure of the holiness of the Father. Read from Psalm twenty-two:
Yet you are holy.
The praises of Israel surround your throne.
Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
You heard their cries for help and saved them.
They put their trust in you and were never disappointed. (Verses 3-5)
It was this enormous faith in the Lord that led to the curtain in the Temple being torn in two. No longer was there a curtain separating people from the Lord. That curtain was torn from top to bottom. That means that there was no human part to that equation. It was a amazing work of the Lord.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment