Rev. Don Campbell
Don’t Just Sit There
We live in a very segregated society. Passing over any forms of segregation that might be addressed in the public forum, I wish to draw attention to the segregation of generations, by looking at the integration of generations as described by Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there’” (8:4-5, NIV).
I don’t envision these old timers sitting on the bench, bemoaning the past and speaking pessimistically of the future. Rather, I see them smiling, reminiscing, encouraging play, perhaps even mediating disputes. In other words, I see them taking an interest in life.
We might not be able to transport this idyllic scene to our fast-paced world, but we can capture the spirit of the passage, which to me is a spirit of hope, where the oldest generation remains interested in and actively involved with the youngest generation.
With our bionic hips, knees, and other prosthetic substitutes for canes, we may struggle to keep up with the energetic youth, but we can impact the present and the future through prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving (1 Tim 2:1) made on behalf of all our children, especially for the orphans, as biblically defined.
The word orphan in the Bible was not limited to those who had no parents. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his ascension to the Father, he said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18, NKJV). He would come to them in the person of the Holy Spirit (vv. 16-17). Had Jesus left them—and us—to our own resources, he would have been abandoning us as orphans.
Millions of our youth have been left to their own resources, growing up on the streets, but not the idyllic ones of Zechariah’s day—or even of mine, but streets infested with gangs, drugs, prostitution, and murder. We need to be praying for these “orphans,” unless we believe ours is the last generation worth saving.
