A Generation of Fire

My generation, the Baby Boomers (born from approximately 1946-1964, according to Wikipedia), has an attitude problem.  As a collective, we are suspicious of anything the younger generation does, even God-related. We don't like their clothes, their tattoos and piercings, their music, their passion, or their anointing (ironically, some of us were radicals during the '60's hippee generation!). We are much like King David's wife, Michal, when she despised him for "dancing with all his might"(half-naked, I might add) before the Lord as the Israelites brought home the ark of the Lord (2 Sam 6:14-16).  Michal earned barrenness for her contempt. I submit we are earning spiritual barrenness for our contempt for the young Spirit-filled believers.

Smith Wigglesworth nailed it on the head when he said, "I believe you need to have something more than smoke to touch people; you need to be a burning light for that.  His ministers must be flames of fire...I tell you, a flame of fire can do anything. Things change in the fire. This is Pentecost."

My generation prefers smoke to fire. We like to talk about God, spend our regulated quiet times with the Lord, busy ourselves with Christian deeds, get together for church potlucks and fellowship, but we don't like the messy power of God. We want to be catered to. We are workaholics, so we don't mind rushing about like Marthas, but we don't like the generations of Marys who sit at the feet of Jesus and ask Him what they should do.  We want them to listen to us.  To model themselves after us.  To go to college, get a good job and have a 401-K plan. To be conservative and "balanced" in their approach to God-not to be wild and embarrassing.  We are much poorer for this attitude. While the next generation of fire-breathers completely sells out to God's call, we responsibly go to work, drive our new cars and decorate our already beautiful homes. We are self-absorbed while they are God-absorbed, and if that isn't enough of a discrepancy, we then criticize them for impractical and irresponsible living.

I'm deserting my generation and becoming an honorary member of Generation Y-those who will usher in the next revival. Hope they'll have me.