-- Psalm 148: 12-13

At St. Martin's, God has gifted us with people of all different ages. We have young adults, octogenarians, teens, toddlers, middle-aged people, infants, newly retired people ... the list goes on. Not every church has been given this gift and we should feel blessed that we have it.

Sometimes, though, blessings can bring tension. Different generations of people have different needs, value different things, hold different things in the most important position. Although we all claim Jesus as our savior, we have different ways of living that claim out. If we only interact with the people who are in our own generation, we can misunderstand people of other generations and only reduce them to their differences from us. Unfortunately, the blessing of a wide variety of generations has not been without its tensions here at St. Martin's.

To help us enjoy this blessing of generations, it is important that we honor and recognize the gifts, joys, struggles and opinions of people of all ages. To be able to do that, we need to talk to people of other generations, spend quality time with those older and younger than us, and share fun and intimate conversations -- not just with our own families but with all the people in our congregation, too.

For many of us, this means getting out of a serious comfort zone that we have gotten into. This means attending things that we might not think we'd enjoy (but end up liking in the end). This means stopping to ask the advice of someone we might not have asked advice from (but finding that young and old have gifts to share). It might mean just sitting with a person we don't usually sit with (and finding that we have a lot in common with them).

Churches are one of the last places that generations can interact with each other. Let's not miss the opportunity to enjoy the gifts that we have been given! Make plans to join us for a "Family Reunion: A Joyful Celebration of the Generations" after worship in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, July 25.