History

Nothing Left To Lose

by Terry Barlow
08/26/17
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It has been said of our youth in the USA that over several successive generations they have lost first their innocence, then their authority, then their love, then their hope (hence an increasing suicide rate) and more recently their very selves, washing them up on the shore of the third millennium after Christ and depositing them on the doorstep of the 21st century with nothing left to lose. Perhaps, as grim as that may sound, there is something good to be said, though, for having nothing left to lose. A generation that has nothing left to lose may have the daring to reach for and be reached in some way for more than other generations have.
I am convinced there are presently those young ones walking the earth among us who will one day see the catching away (1 Thess. 4, v.17) with their own eyes and will be a key part of the provocation for the promised return of the Messiah Himself. David Brooks wrote that subtlety had gone into hibernation in modern America; civility too I might add. But they will be awakened again like different species of bears. And it probably won’t happen or look like we think it will.
A wise Chinese man heard once me grappling honestly with the personal changes I was experiencing in the aging process. I still remember his thoughtful response: associate with young people. Or, at the very least, don’t lose touch with them. And I don’t know how we can maintain contact with them without associating with them. I know the young are believed to benefit from the wisdom of the aged, and it’s true for sure, but I don’ know if the aged understand as clearly what it is that we glean from the young.