The rising of generation xtreme - part 3 in the serialising of Carl Anderson's Changing Of The Guard

"Every generation blames the one before.
And all of their frustrations come beating on your door.
I know that I'm a prisoner to all my father held so dear,
I know that I'm a hostage, to all his hopes and fears,
I just wish I could have told him in the living years.
Say it loud, say it clear. You can listen as well as you hear.
It's too late when we die, to admit we don't see eye to eye.

I wasn't there that morning, when my father passed away,
I didn't get to tell him, all the things I had to say.
I think I caught his spirit, later that same year.
I'm sure I heard his echo in my baby's newborn tears.
I just wish I could have told him in the living years."

This song expresses the pain of unresolved childhood conflict. Like many others, these lyrics reveal to us something of the cry of this generation.

What happens when a father doesn't relate in a godly way to his son or daughter? In the above song, the unresolved conflict caused remorse instead of there being a release for the next generation to become all they can with encouragement.

In Ireland, for example, at least in the South, it is for the most part the women who are and were raising the children. For many generations the men would spend their time working, or just plain being lazy, come home to eat, and then spend their evenings at the local pubs drinking. Alcoholism goes back many generations, so for generations it is the women who have been forced into doing much of the work of raising the children, while the men take a back seat in the home. Many of the fathers either don't realize the importance of their place, or refuse and rebel against it. The men aren't rising up and being men or fathers.

An Experiment Of Experience

Let's personalize this with a miniature experiment. This is aimed at Gen. X'ers, though whatever age you are you can participate.

Here are two questions for you to personally answer right now; the answers are private and meant to be between you and the Lord. Grab a pen or a pencil. Ready?

Question One: "How do you look at yourself as an individual?"

Question Two: "How do you relate to God?"

Take a moment and answer each of the two questions. Don't hurry your answers. Now assuming you've got an answer to each of them, let's see what those answers reveal. The answer to the first question reveals your formation in character. How well your parent/s or peers raised you and allowed a godly formation to take place in your character. The answer to the second reveals your relationship to your earthly father, and thus possibly to your Heavenly Father. Because God ordained the father in the home to mirror His own likeness, the way in which you relate to God is the way in which you have been brought up to relate to your earthly dad. Maybe you feel your answers are great, or maybe they could be better. Remember, it is only a little experiment. And whatever your past experience has been in your growth and formation in Jesus Christ, your present and
future experience can and will change.

I believe we have a generation where in the area of the lack of fatherhood, and consequent hardship in relationships, much change is going to be forged by those who can cast away the fear of rejection and begin to reach out to others. "Searching hearts are more open to truth than satisfied hearts," writes X'er David Plaistad, "God has given my generation a hungry heart. The down side is that we tend to be consumers, even with the gospel of Christ. The upside is that we are hungry to find something real from our God. We want real relationship. We want real spiritual healing. We want real revival. We want real power and influence in order to bring change to the world that we have judged as near meaningless. We are looking for a real God with real goods."

You can buy Changing Of The Guard from Cross Rhythms Direct for £10.44.