G19. Never the same again
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G19. Never the same again
When a healthy baby comes to a healthy family, it is a great joy and at the same time a huge change! Preparation usually takes place several months before the birth. The little room is painted, various gadgets and maybe even small furniture are added. And when it comes, everything is suddenly different. And it will never be the same again! My wife Danka and I went three times through it. Each time it was challenging and at the same time wonderful, immensely rewarding, transforming. We are extremely grateful for our children.
When a grown child leaves home a few decades later, it’s a big change too! Everything is suddenly different again. And it will never be the same again! This is also challenging, and it is also beautiful. Suddenly you see your „child“ behaving maturely and independently. He/she might make a mistake now and then, but if he/she’s mature, he/she usually learns from it and moves on.
From a number of Christians I hear that they kind of want „new people to believe.“ After all, it is sad when believers in the church just grow old and disappear from the scene. Some remember what it was like when they themselves believed, and how a few decades ago they started new things, new groups, even new churches. For some reason, however, it is too often assumed in various Christian communities that with the arrival of new spiritual children, things will remain the same as they were until now. There will just be a little more of us.
As soon as a new person appears, I see – perhaps unspoken but quite clear – expectation that he/she should properly adapt to our customs as soon as possible. We will not change anything – he/she is new here! This desire for „eternal stability“ may not be the concern of aging brothers and sisters, whose strength is waning and who therefore experience a lot of uncertainty. On the contrary, some of the older ones are very flexible and progressive because they remember the growth dynamics from their youth! Sometimes I meet 30- years-old who fight to keep things „the way they’ve always been“ – according to their assumption! In a normal family, however, with the arrival of each child, everything is radically different! The sleeping pattern changes again every time, the diet is a little different, the aroma of the home has a new flavor, not to mention new economic and energetic requirements. What else is different with arrival of each child in the family? – And it will never be the same again?
And what if „spiritually mature children“ create their own new „family“ with new people they have won for Jesus out there?! So they create a new community! Our grown-up children went to university or got married and therefore „suddenly“ they don’t live with us! But it is right! Even though they left, we still love each other very much and get along well. We do not consider the fact that the children left our house and started their own families a „separation“ or a „split“. On the contrary – it’s a joy! We bless them in their new life, in their marriage, in their new family. At the same time, they don’t do everything exactly the same as we did at our home! However, this is also logical and healthy! Similarly, independence of new generations of disciples is natural. It is a sign of their maturity and strength, a manifestation of healthy spiritual fertility. They need support, encouragement and abundant prayers from afar on the part of us more experienced.
For a spiritual movement, we consider it very important that the essence of existence of every healthy family of God (that is, the church) is the reaching to new disciples and, naturally, together with that, starting new families of God (that is, churches) in the next generations! Everything alive reproduces in due time if it is healthy. And when reproduction happens, things are never the same again!
How prudent it was of You, Lord Jesus, when You taught Your disciples that new wine belongs to new wineskins; so that there would be no harm to the old wineskins, if they burst, nor to the new wine, if it would leak out. And yet you clearly say that old wine is good!