In an age of deteriorating families and communities, the older saints in our churches (yes, I mean you too, Millennial!) are a precious resource. But many don’t realize this. With less energy—and often more responsibility (aging parents and grandkids)—older saints often feel burnt out.
But they can also feel irrelevant. The issues that many struggle with today are unfamiliar to me, and I can only imagine how the Gen-Xers and Boomers feel about them. What can the old possibly offer the young? The question isn’t rhetorical.
Prayer
This first one is pretty easy, right? Well, it can’t be that easy, or more of us would be doing it more often. It’s a battleground between self-righteous idolatry and grateful dependence upon the Lord who not only saved you, but leads you “in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3).
And, beloved Boomer, it is not only something that your weary heart can still do, but it is something that your weary heart must do. In prayer, we remember Jesus and all that he endured, that we might not grow weary and faint-hearted (Heb. 12:3). So as you lift up the aging parent and the diaper-filling baby, don’t forget to pray for the young adults in your church who are just finding their way in the broader culture, or the forays of new parenthood, or the spiritual battles that come with a growing faith.
Perspective
Contrary to what you believe, Gen-Xer, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). Yes, drugs and free love still reign, as they did back in your day. People still get depressed and angsty. Yes, AI feels overwhelming, but so did smartphones 20 years ago and dial-up internet in the ’90s. History might not always repeat, but it rhymes.
And this is where you can help. How did you find the patience to wait for marriage and sex? What did you do when you couldn’t find good employment or provide for your family in the early years? How did you navigate fear and loneliness? Both 1 and 2 Timothy feel like pastoral advice from a dying Paul to a timid Timothy. Paul continually dipped his pen in his own heart, as Spurgeon would say, to encourage Timothy. “Remember Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote, because that is how we endure (2 Tim. 2:8–10).
Wisdom
Wisdom is drawn from both prayer and the perspective that only comes from experience, by grace through faith in Christ. Even you, Millennial, have wisdom to offer. The Lord sanctifies you every day of your life, and though it is difficult to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” he has been at constant work in you, “both to will and work according to his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12–13).
You have suffered trials of many kinds, and by God’s grace alone, you have become more steadfast in him (James 1:2–3). But we always need more wisdom. And the Lord promises that if we lack wisdom, we should ask him who gives generously without reproach, and it will be given to us (James 1:4–5). As you seek more wisdom from the Lord, be part of his answer to a young person’s similar prayer.
This is part of the beauty of the church. Not only are we united to Christ as our head, but to the body as many parts. Each of these parts is indispensable—including the aging ones. You may feel less energetic or even irrelevant, but the Lord loves his people all the way down—and through—the generations. Continue to serve God’s people by having compassion upon the young in your church, and thus remind them that “the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (Ps. 103:13).
