Today’s ONE THING: About a lost vote…

John 3:35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

The timing for today’s verse makes it especially meaningful for me.  I have just completed a five-day journey with my son to the 74^th General Assembly of the Church of God.

In reflecting back, part of what made these last few days so special was the awareness that there will only be a few times over the rest of our lives that this could happen.  This is not a bad thing, it is just the normal course of life; a man is supposed to leave his father and mother and start on the path that God has for him.  However, “the father loves the son” and nothing changes that, even in the case of Jesus Christ.

When you and I think of Jesus we think in terms of Lord, Savior and King; when God the Father thinks of Jesus He thinks in terms of “Son.”  (No wonder we pray in Jesus’ name!)

Another issue that makes this verse meaningful to me relates to arguably the most controversial issue that was debated at the General Assembly – the issue of whether to lower the age for when a young man can become an Ordained Bishop in the Church of God (the highest ministerial rank in the COG).

In the end, it was voted down and this was very disappointing to the younger men, and rightly so.  There was merit to the arguments on both sides of the issue.  However, in the end I feel that what made the difference was a relationship issue for “the Father gives all things into the hands of His Son.”

I am much closer to the older generation now (probably most of the younger men would consider me the old generation!) and I think I can understand them a little better than perhaps my younger brothers and sisters.

I would ask my younger brothers to be mindful of the fast pace of the changes that have happened in the lives of the older generation.  Young people today take for granted the way of life that we enjoy today.  However, the world that our older brothers and sister started out in was much different.  All the changes can be disconcerting and threatening.  A frighten and defensive person does not think in terms of giving but in terms of defending and keeping what they have.

This is not a right or wrong; it just is.  I would encourage my younger brothers and sisters to build bridges with the older generation.  Remember, the “how-we-do-things” has greatly changed over the years, but the “why-we-do-things” has changed very little.  The older generation has much to give if you will take the time to connect with them.

Remember the older generation’s “social network” will look more like a kitchen table and a mug of coffee than an I-pad and a Starbuck’s cup of coffee, but learning how to connect with them will pay big dividends.

And to the “fathers”, remember those aggressive and strange young people are your sons and daughters – love them and listen to them and you will learn that, like Jesus, they are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of the Gospel.  If you’ll do that, it will be so much easier to “put all things into their hands.”

Over the years, my son Lee and I have had to work through many things.  There were times that we greatly disagreed on issues and our debate got rather heated.  But in the end what brought resolution was not titles, positions, and “winning” but rather the love that a father has for a son and a son for his father.  I suspect that that will also be the case for the Church of God.