Moseses and Joshuas

So after all that there was still one more full day left!

Friday, we spent learning about Moseses (Mosi? Mosen?) and Joshuas. Joshua was sort of Moses' apprentice. When Moses lead the Isrealites, Joshua followed him around and learned what to do. As a result, after Moses' death when Joshua became leader of the Isrealites, Joshua was a certain kind of leader because of the lessons he'd learned from Moses.

As we studied Joshua, I saw how different he and his generation were from Moses and the Isrealites of Moses' generation. In his "burning bush moment" right before the defeat of Jericho, Joshua doesn't hesitate in saying yes. Also, the people follow his crazy intructions about marching around Jericho without any recorded complaining. It was also Joshua's generation that got to taste the fruit of the Promise Land. They got to be a part of God fulfilling His promise.

Lately, I've been having conversations with people my age about how I feel that our generation is different from our parent's generation. I've met so many people from my generation who came from nominally Christian homes. Their parents have lived somewhere between quiet and fake Christian lives. But God is calling them as students to radical sacraficial lives to change the world in big ways. And they are saying yes. I saw my generation in the story of Joshua's generation.

We have tasted the fruit of the Promised Land and we can never go back.

As I was thinking about it, that made me realize that I think my mom has been a Moses in my life. She comes from the generation before me. She is the one who is largely responsible for my becoming a Christian at a young age, the one who taught me out to study Scripture, and (in her own way) the one who has supported my choices to sacrafice my whole life to follow after Jesus. She told me once that she has always believed that my life was meant for something radically significant and special. However, I want so much more than the life my mom has had: if I get married and have a family I want God to be at the center of that and I want to see the world change. This was a cool realization for me, because I've been frustrated with feeling like my gratefulness for and discontent with my family's spritual influence were irreconcilable. Turns out they both fit perfectly together in the example of Moses and Joshua. I have peace now in thanking my mom for how much value she's had in my life and running after something even greater.

This week also meant a lot to me because I got to see a lot of my "Joshua's" really step up and take on the challenge of saying yes to God. I was so proud of all of them!! And I just can't express how much it meant to me to see the fruit of the time and effort I've poured into their lives over the past four years. And I feel like I'm leaving the chapter in more than good hands. I have confidence that they will even surpass what was done in my time, which is exactly what I want. The joy of that gave me so much fuel to move forward.

Overall, everthing just gave me a sense of completion. Everything had ended so well and has all been handed off. Steven gave me the honor of praying over the Ebenezer rocks on our last morning, and it just felt like I was sealing my time as a student in Intervarsity. The old has been completed and I have been equipped with what I need for the new to begin.

If this is how it started how will it end up? :)

The time has come to dream again.