Part 1 of 4
Past and Present
All flesh is like the grass. We blossom, flourish and fade away. Meditating on this truth brings wisdom to our lives, and will guide us in our vocations. We are temporal, and yet we are cared for and nurtured by a God that is unchanging and unfailing in His love, which He pours out to every generation.
Is our generation more important than those that have gone before us? Certainly we are richer in material things. But in America, our families are fractured, are minds are scattered, our schedules are overburdened, and most of us are just trying to hold on for the ride. Ours is not a Christian culture, and that post-Christian mind-set has infiltrated the functions and gifts given to the church. Instead of a vague and relativistic message that entertains,
We need to bring the message of healing to the brokenness of our world. The church needs to be a place of refuge from chaos. It needs to be a place of peace and prayer. It is time for songwriters to think pastorally in their writing for the body of Christ. There is a real need for songs that comfort, nurture, bring peace, healing and hope, with lyrics that are in the vernacular of our times.
Ever since the beginning of the church, God has poured out His blessings on His people. The gifts of teaching, and songs of praise have been given to every generation. Each generation, then, should be richer in the lexicon of praise than the one before it, because of our inheritance from our spiritual forefathers . Many pastors realize this, and quote the church fathers, or Augustine, Luther, or Martin Lloyd-Jones, in their sermons, effectively re-voicing the gift that God gave to these men of different generations.
God is the gracious giver of all good gifts, and His purposes for giving gifts are to build up, and nurture His bride, the Church.
We are not the first Christians, and probably not the last. We are part of a heroic procession of believers spanning thousands of years whose hope is in Jesus Christ. To not look back and treasure God’s gifts to past generations is foolish. Why should we miss out on the wisdom and beauty given to those who have gone before us? Why do we have to be chained to our own experiences, especially when so many of us have too little time for contemplation or space to order our own minds? Today we have the privilege of looking to the past and the present.