New Voices: By and about young adults

It is easy to get caught up in feelings of nostalgia. As a pastor, I’ve been part of many funerals that have been a blessing to me. Burying and celebrating the lives of people that have lived 70, 80, 90 or even 100-plus years of faithfulness to Christ is a privilege. Listening to families as they remember and honor the loved one that has gone to glory is to remember the good old days, when life was simpler, slower and a little less comfortable.

I sometimes catch myself getting caught up in the moment: running around the farm with a bunch of brothers and sisters sounds like a better alternative to playing video games alone. Waking up early to go out to the barn for chores seems like a better alternative to sleeping late into the morning. Receiving a handwritten letter seems like a better alternative to a buzzing cell phone in your pocket. Looking forward to church on a Sunday because that was the main (or only) social interaction of the week seems like a better alternative to trying to squeeze church in on top of the dozen or so other activities you are a part of.

These are the days gone by, and it can be easy to romanticize them. However, it would be difficult to find too many people who would be willing to give up all that we have and go back to this style of life (in other words, you rarely see anyone becoming Amish that did not grow up in an Amish home). And even if there are some that would choose this, it begs the question, What’s the point?

I’m sure there are professional psychologists that could explain to me why nostalgia can feel so good to us. But the more important question is this: How is each generation being faithful to Jesus Christ?

The call of Christ is the same to all generations, all cultures and all people of the world. Christ bids us to die to ourselves and offer our lives as living sacrifices to him.
This may have looked different 50 years ago from how it looks today, but I submit that throughout all time, this is an equally difficult and equally easy thing to do.
It is difficult because we are selfish and sinful people, unwilling to yield everything we have and everything we are to someone else, even if that someone else is the One True God.

It is easy because once we come to grips with who we are, it is an immense blessing to know that there is a Savior whose burden is easy and whose yoke is light.

It is at once the most difficult and the most joyful decision a person can make.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 says: “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”

The temptation to get caught up in wishing for days gone by is nothing new, and it will always be a temptation for us. Just as the author of Ecclesiastes did, we need to be sure to name this sentiment for what it is: not wise.

This is not to say we should not study our history and learn from the past, but as soon as we find ourselves longing for the good old days, we have gone too far.

I challenge you to examine how you view the past. When you look at where we are now, in 2011, as compared with a half-century ago, what is your gut feeling? Do you find yourself thinking we have digressed? Are we worse off now? Are things just not as good as they used to be? I caution against getting caught up in the good old days; rather focus on the now and put your trust in the Lord.

The call of Christ has not changed for 2,000 years. What is Christ calling you to right now, in 2011? What is Christ calling us, his church to, today? How can we be faithful to Jesus Christ right now?

Thomas Dunn is associate pastor of youth and young adults at Kidron (Ohio) Mennonite Church.