Devotional Messages

Isaiah 40:30-31 – Even youths will faint and grow be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (NRSV)

Churches are often convinced they need more young people.  And we do, of course.  But have you ever considered that question from the other direction?  Maybe young people need the church.  And maybe they especially need churches that are small enough that we don’t divide people up by age.  One of the most important gifts small-membership congregations can offer to young people (and people of all ages) is an opportunity to live in multi-generational community.

So much of our lives are spent in contexts where we’re mostly surrounded by people our own age.  We sometimes even end up structuring our free time that way.  But the benefits of having significant relationships with people of different generations are well documented and numerous.  Children who grow up knowing adults beyond their own family do better at almost everything than children with more limitations on their relationships.

These verses from Isaiah point out another particular benefit of being part of a multi-generational community of faith.  The pressures that young people experience these days are multitudinous and complex.  Expectations of them – because they are young and strong, because they’re “digital natives”, because their bodies haven’t started breaking down yet – can feel overwhelming.  Being friends with someone who’s been through some of that stress and come out on the other side can be life-changing for someone who’s just going through difficulty for the first time.

Learning to “wait for the Lord” is a skill we spend our whole lives learning.  But some are farther along that path than others, and we can help one another along the way.  Sometimes the wisdom young people have gained can even help those who think they’re too old to learn new tricks.  We’re on this race together!