Next

5 min read

24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

Numbers 20:24-26

I heard a sermon once where the preacher pointed out that no matter how significant the life and ministry of Moses was, the transition from Moses to Joshua was very abrupt. It was like, “Moses died. Joshua …”

We see a similar kind of movement here. “Aaron died. Eleazar …”

When we think about this world, we cannot help but see ourselves at the center of it. But a sign of spiritual maturity and growth is when we start to see the world as it truly is—with Jesus Christ at the center.

When Jesus is at the center, I start to see things beyond my own life. Not that my life doesn’t matter. But I start to see my life in terms of its Christ-centered significance.

That is why it is important for me to see that the church always belongs to the next generation. Of course, the church ultimately belongs to Christ. But the idea is that churches would be much more God-glorifying and healthier if the members would be able to see beyond themselves and think of the next generation coming up.

But we must not raise up the next generation in isolation from the current generation and the community at large. That’s a recipe for the eventual death of the church and for many younger people leaving the church.

That is the mistake that churches make over and over again. Churches “contextualize” ministry for the next generation, but they “over-contextualize” in a manner that separates the next generation from the community as a whole.

At least, that’s what I believe has been happening. In the end, our seminaries and churches have taught us to “do ministry in context,” and we do that very well through our programs and activities. What we fail to do is to teach empathy, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and love—that is, community.

Father, You are love. But we are all about programs. Help us to develop our programs with Your love at the core so that everything we do is Christ-centered. Let that be the spiritual culture that we leave for the next generation. In Jesus’s name. Amen.