the difference in generations

Generational differences exist, both in identity and action.

I think this is clear when anyone considers their parents and/or grandparents. Their lives revolve around certain activities, behaviors, and habits that are more common to their own generation than they are to a particular family. Take facebook as an example. Take playing bridge as an example. Take wearing white New Balance walking shoes.

It got me thinking, what does my generation have to offer the world? And my generation here in the US, how is it distinct from my parent's generation?

And I considered this amidst the context of this passage in Matthew:
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief. (Matthew 17:14-23 NIV)

The man who came to Jesus really wanted his son healed. That was his focus and his reason for coming to Jesus. It makes sense, back then, without modern medicine, that sickness and illness rates were much higher. Calamities and deformities were commonplace. In a sense, it was a generation that, as part of its identity, had high levels of sickness.

I think Jesus' response in this passage is so unique:
"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."

I think Jesus would have said this with an exasperated, almost frustrated tone. It seems all that the people wanted were surface level things, important, but surface level...to be fed...to be healed...to have comfort. Very plainly, Jesus then proceeds to tell them that they needed more faith, to consider something bigger than the surface level things they were wrestling with common to their current generational identity.

I consider that my parent's generation brought a great deal of prosperity to America. The sheer demographic number coupled with their work ethic helped usher in large economic gains for the country as a whole. Honestly, I don't forsee that staying the case, I think America's standard of living in economic terms will fall or flatline and not improve. The point is, my parent's generation seems to have, as part of their identity, earned prosperity, and thus, an accumulated status of wealth.

As proof of this, consider how many parents helped finance their kids college education (of my generation). Probably a great number more than their parents who could or could not help with their college education.

Each parent always wants to give their children more than their parents were able to give them.

I think that applies largely to a whole generation. And so what is my generation's gift to our children going to be?

I was thinking about that this weekend when I saw my best friend's baby boy, happy as ever to be dancing around with his dad, mom, and me in the room.

Well, I think it is going to be hard to give our children the kind of prosperity that our parents were able to give us. Remembering this passage in Matthew, I think we can give our children something maybe better than prosperity and comfort through having enough money.

May they grow and develop a sense of faith in Christ, modeled by their parents (us), that is bigger than a mustard seed, so that they will actually move mountains and bring Christ's kingdom here to earth.