This generation!

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

 

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” 

Matt 11:16-19

They fiddle while Rome burns. Not only the crowds, but also their leaders—distinguished scholars, professional theologians, ordained clergy. Like pouting children yelling to their peers: We call a fast and you hold a concert! We host a banquet and you call a solemn assembly! They are critical
of everyone but themselves: John the Baptist is too grim and gloomy. He barks and bites. Jesus Christ is a party animal, too loose and light.

This generation! Nothing suits them. They send reps to John and Jesus and conclude that they have nothing to learn from them: We don’t need to come to terms with you. You didn’t even study in our institution.

This generation! Sorted out into cliques and camps, they clamour for attention and compete for dominance. They want everyone else to dance to their tune. The Pharisees tout hyper-holiness. The Zealots champion political liberation. The Sadducees safeguard the status quo. And a little-known
group, the Essenes, they write everyone off and keep to themselves.

The scariest thing about this little parable is how easy it is to miss the Kingdom. This generation was not entirely indifferent. Many were seeking the Kingdom. But most of them missed it. Why? As this parable shows, they were competitive, critical of others, and preoccupied with themselves. When the Kingdom finally came, they were too blur to see it. Of that generation, only two got it right—John and Jesus, with their discounted disciples, rejected by those who knew it all.

This generation! They cut themselves out of the loop (Luke 7:30). They missed the day of their visitation. They went on playing their quaint little marketplace games while the Kingdom of heaven quietly passed them by.

They fiddled while their city burned. (Luke 19:44)

SEEK THE KINGDOM

Someone once said: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Jesus’ generation missed it and messed up big time. But we don’t have to repeat their folly. We must ask ourselves: what kind of Church will future generations inherit? Our posture and choices today will define our times and our legacy. This 40 Day season, let us be absolutely honest and ruthless with ourselves. Don’t play games. Don’t play God. Time is not on our side. It’s the 11th hour.

■ Think about it. What’s causing so much disharmony...is the fact that too many want to beat the big drum, too few are willing to face the music, and none want to play second fiddle (HENRY KISSINGER, Adapted).

■ Look inside. Personalise the issues. Am I all wrapped up in my own little world? What kind of atmosphere do I bring to my home, church and workplace? Am I a unifier or a divider? Have I been pushing my own agenda in the name of God, in the name of ministry? In all of my doing, what am I becoming? Ask God to show you your blindspots. Repent of carnality, immaturity, self-conceit, competition, and strife.

■ Look around: How are we doing as a Body? Are we seeking His Kingdom or building our own little kingdoms? Where are we relationally? Are we distancing ourselves, downing churches, discrediting ministries, demeaning movements—just because they don’t act or sound like us and don’t dance to

our tune? Or because we don’t like the leaders? Are we resisting God? For the sake of His glory and for the sake of the future, we must repent. We must reject business as usual. Today, make right with God, make right with man. Close a chapter, turn a page, re-write history, and move on—as ONE—in

purity of purpose and passion.

■ Make this your personal manifesto: In the fear of God and for the sake of His name in this city, I pledge never to walk alone, but with others. I will draw near, close ranks, and work together with others. I will think the best of others, speak well of others, esteem others better than myself. I will celebrate the success of others, serve others, learn from others. I will listen deeply, love

richly, and lead wisely—so that the Church in Singapore will flourish and fabulously fulfill her destiny in God.