My Sweet Al and I have climbed our mountains and have bunions, blisters and banged-up knees to prove it. Lately, we have been climbing little hills. Our hearts are full with a fulfilled life, and still a lot of life remains in us.
We continue to run with passion for Jesus, but we understand where we are. A prayer is always on our lips and we are fortified for battle. At night, we look for a soft pillow to lay our heads. We enjoy the sweet gospel music that soothes us and gives us a restful sleep. Today, it’s all about comfort.
This younger generation refuses to be comforted. With their eyes wide open, filled with truth, they are taking their walking stick and climbing their mountain with gusto and no apologies. A hard rock to rest their head upon at night will do fine. They are learning that the Rock, Jesus, will be the only place to find rest for them. His power and authority will fight their battles.
My grandson, Spencer Whiteout, a podcaster, interviewed Andrew Isker, a pastor of his generation. Isker is the pastor of 4th Street Evangelical Church in Waseca, Minn.
I was curious as to what Isker would say. He made some honest, but hard-to-hear statements: “If you only knew how bad things really are …There is no excuse, like, that’s your mountain to climb. You’re born into this time. Those are the cards you’re dealt with.”
The interviewee continued, “We live in a dystopia. Every part of historical human existence in our world has been turned on its head. The world we live in is an inversion of what God created you to live. All that is good is treated as though it were repugnant. All that is beautiful is treated as though it were repulsive. And the truth is forbidden while the most outrageous lies are exalted …”
As I listened to the interview, a scripture fell into my lap. I referenced it to my grandson. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and gave an example of Israel in their downfall. His generation was living in is a conclusive state of the ages past and was now completing its goal with Paul’s generation. Today’s young people are also living in the conclusive state of their history, and their completion is within them.
“For we live in a time when the purpose of all the ages past is now completing its goal within us.” — 1 Corinthians 10:11 (TPT). In the footnote, in the Greek, it says, “The end of the ages has arrived upon us” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
My 29-year-old grandson wrote, “Grandma, I LOVE the newest newsletter!! Also I’m glad you have supported me and shared the episode. I’ve even had a few friends say to me ‘this line of thinking is DANGEROUS and RADICAL.’ Which I find funny because I think radical problems require radical solutions. Also, I deeply believe it’s worse when good men do NOTHING.... Being DANGEROUS is a GOOD thing, if men’s hearts are in the right place. This system and society are so corrupt, we’re not gonna win or restore Christendom by being ‘nice.’
“Jesus was always direct and full of the TRUTH. He was compassionate to the lost and searching, but harsh as He pointed to the self-righteous and evil. That’s what I’m aiming for. I might miss sometimes, but I’m constantly seeking HIM with all these issues.”
To my reader friends: There you have it. God is putting fire into this next generation. They are ready to take their mountain. They have no idea of the storms that will come, but they are fortified to claim their summit. The Lord says He gives enough grace for each generation. They will need a lot of grace.
It reminds me of a famous line Charles Dickens wrote in 1859 in his famous story “A Tale of Two Cities.”
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” which reflects the same condition in today’s world. He continues, “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—”
Final brushstroke: One of the themes in “A Tale of Two Cities” is that things are not always as they seem. The year 1859, when Dickens penned his book, and the year 2025 sound the same. This next generation does not have their eyes closed, as my generation did, but they are ready to take their mountain.
Reader comments
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“Good morning Mrs. Slade! I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for writing that it’s okay to say no and to be [selective] with your yes. I too come from a family where boundaries do not exist and if you have them, they certainly not honored. On the rare chance that I set a boundary I’d get told I was being disrespectful or unchristian. As a kid this was very hard for me to understand and now as an adult, I realize I was not being disrespectful or unchristian I was just protecting myself. Now that I have a family, I set these boundaries much harder for the sake of my daughter and my family struggles to understand that. So thank you for writing that it’s okay to say no. It’s really nice to hear that coming from somebody who has much more wisdom than me. MM, Pagosa Springs, CO.”
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