“You Have Not Passed This Way Before”

                Those words come from Joshua 3.4, spoken to the Israelites who were about to cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. They were told to keep their distance from the ark while it was being carried in front of them across the Jordan, so that they could all see it and would know the way by which they should go, for they had not passed that way before. Keeping their eyes on the ark and the miraculous stopping of the waters of the Jordan as they traveled into unfamiliar territory would provide them with the confident assurance that God was with them. It might also keep them from getting sidetracked and going the wrong way.

                There is a message here that well fits our age, and which may likewise speak to your own personal experience. In the church, and in our culture and time in which we live, we are passing into unfamiliar territory. In some ways, we have not passed this way before. Now, I know that there is “nothing new under the sun,” but it might be new to you and me. That is, the experiences we face and the roads we travel might not be new to human experience in general (cf. 1 Cor 10.13), but each individual and each generation may face those things for the first time. Israel of Joshua’s day was a new generation, heading into new territory, and whose lives were about to change dramatically. They would face challenges such as they had never faced before. Perhaps that is even more true for us today. Our young people are facing things that previous generations never faced. The challenges to their belief will be greater, the temptations perhaps more acute. They will need all the help they can get if they are to successfully navigate the path ahead.

                The church likewise faces a road it has never before traveled. We are experiencing more than simply a generational change within the body of Christ. We are facing a change of outlook, a change of mindset, a change in the way people think. Postmodernism has influenced how an entire generation looks at faith, truth, worship, etc.  Much of postmodernism is opposed to the absolute truth of God’s word, and in such cases we must be ready to take a stand. But not all of the “new territory” is bad, mind you. We older folks would do well to listen, to consider other points of view, and to be flexible where we can be so without violating clear principles of truth. The contemporary vs. traditional worship style (e.g., different music style, lifting of hands, more emotional expression) is perhaps the most obvious example of where we need to learn to accept one another. Churches have split, or at least divided into separate worship assemblies based on worship styles, which in effect brings about a generational division within the body. The church is only harmed by such division. I think Joshua 3.4 is relevant here. A generation change is bringing the church into unfamiliar territory. In navigating the change, each generation (it works both directions) must learn to accept and honor the other in those areas that do not violate truth. To help us do that, as Israel was to keep focused on the ark, we must keep our eyes focused on Christ (cf. Rom 15.1-7; Heb 12.1). For it is not about me or you, nor about my generation or your generation, but about Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

© 2007 Randy Hohf