God's Mission Transcends the Generations

This maybe a "duh" to many of you, but as I was reading through Deuteronomy 33 this morning the Bible makes an obvious point: God's mission transcends the generations. In the last paragraph of this chapter God tells Moses to go up on the mountain of Abarim and look across to the land of Canaan which God is going to give to the people of Israel, but Moses will not be going with them, for he will die on the mountain.

In the prior chapter Joshua was named to succeed Moses in another example of generational change. Today, there are many churches that have long histories (some have 200+ years of history) as they have passed on what Christ is doing in their communities to the next generation. Undoubtedly, this will cause some tension because the generations may have different ideas on the ABC's of ministry. Sadly, this diverts energy from what the real mission is: going in our neighborhoods and communities, by the grace and power of God and letting God use each of us as His instruments to transform our cities.

Just think for a moment if the Israelites were so bogged down in what to do about the ABC's of ministry that they never crossed the Jordan River to claim the promised land. They would have certainly missed out on God's blessing as God would raise up another generation to fulfill His promise. Regardless of which church you are currently attending, please be mindful that God's mission will transcend your lifetime; that His mission is about Him - His glory, His word, and His love - it is not about us; and that we are to be used by Him to transform our communities.

By being mindful of these things and practicing them, we will have taken the focus off of ourselves and placed it squarely on God by sacrificing our individual preferences. In turn, God will continue to work through your church body as you pass His mission to the the next generation.