Since I started teaching at Kairos over eight years ago, I've become an inadvertent expert on young adults. Getting to know this generation has been both a challenge and a reward, and being let into the lives of these young adults has been a great privilege for me.
Here is one of the differences I've discovered: Post-moderns look for truth in relationships. Moderns, on the other hand, look for truth in information. Post-moderns are looking for someone whose life is lived congruently and thus, evidence of a truthful life. Moderns look for coherent statements such as, “A is true. B=A, therefore B is true.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in musical taste. Moderns, for the most part, love the old hymns. Their hymns are statements of great evangelistic theology. These hymns confirm and affirm the great statements of truth about our faith.
On the other hand, post-modern worship songs are relational. In these songs you hear a lot about “Jesus and me.” These songs, as well, confirm the experience of the postmodern.
Now we see the wisdom of Jesus’ saying to us that He is the truth. Start with Jesus and He’ll bring you to truth. Start with truth and the truth will bring you to Jesus. Every journey of faith ends up with the same destination and the same conclusion—Jesus.
Jesus, in His mercy and deep love for us as individuals, deals with us uniquely. We shouldn't judge each other because the “style” of the relationship is different.
We should, however, pay attention to the “substance” of our lives. Does the encounter with Jesus result in a more Christ-like life? Does the experience with Christ yield a life described by the spiritual fruit in Galatians?
No one gets all of God. Each of us gets what we need and what we can handle. Together we compose a fuller revelation of the Person of our Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Let’s be patient and encouraging to each other. Who knows? One day, someone else’s experience with Christ may bring you the insight you need.
