Generation C

I've been thinking lately about the labels we apply to different age groups, and frankly most of them leave me unimpressed.

Generation X? How empty and non-descriptive! I was born a Baby Boomer, but who wants to wear a name that identifies its bearer as immature and explosive? The Millennial Generation isn't a good label now that we're well into the twenty-first century, and anyway, who can remember how many Ls and Ns are in the word millennial? The people we used to call the "youth group" now prefer to be called "students," and many senior adults don't like being called seniors or Golden Agers.

Maybe we need some new labels that cut across generational lines. On the negative side, we are the Post-9/11 Generation, forced to accept as a way of life some seismic shifts in the way we deal with terrorism, Islam, and homeland security. We are the Generation That Forgot How to Cook, with our microwave meals, salads in plastic bags, and fast-food restaurants on every street corner. I will leave you to decide for yourself whether that is good or not, just as you can ponder whether in the future, church historians will remember us as the Generation That Forgot How to Sing Four-Part Harmony.

Certainly we don't want to be identified with the "corrupt generation" Peter warned about on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:40), or the "crooked and depraved generation" Paul mentioned in Philippians 2:15.

'Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob' (Psalm 24:6).

Here are some positive alternatives. How about the Seeker Generation? David spoke about "the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob" (Psalm 24:6). Here's another good one: the Generation of Praise. The Psalmist Asaph wrote, "Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise" (Psalm 79:13).

Actually, though, the best generational label is one that identifies us with our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. It's a name that connects us with believers young and old who share our love for Jesus.

I became a Christian when I was nine years old, and if I live till I'm 99, I still want Christ to be the defining factor of my life and the name above all names. All the days of our lives, the Lord wants us to follow him and join hands with other believers, learning from and giving to those who are younger and older than we are.

At any age, I want to be part of Generation C. I just want to be a Christian.