Final generation... ?

His was a name known in every household, held either with honor or disdain. 

Whether they sided with him, or against him, he didn't seem to care. 

But, weather beaten leader that Martin Luther was, many had no idea how he'd gotten there. They couldn't see the turmoil in the monastery, the agony going up Pilate's staircase...

Moses was a man more mighty than any on the planet in his day, to the best of our knowledge. He led hundreds of thousands of men, the number of their families yet a mystery, through a desert and to the borders of a new land. 

Yet, most didn't realize how his time spent feeding sheep had impacted the leader they now wholly relied on.

She was only a poor girl, who had to drop out of school after third grade, because of a terrible accident that made her face a spectacle. Many may not have realized that, as they listened while she quite literally brought the things of heaven to their view...

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Today, as I look around, I see many needs. Needs in my own life, needs among the unreached and un-Christian...

But I see a need of leaders, that begs to be filled. 

There is no shortage of those who strive for supremacy in this world, and maybe even in the church. 

But I see a lack of those who, like Luther, Moses and Ellen, have been through the fire with God, and come forth, empty of self, and full of Him. 

We have long believed that this could be the final generation. We talk of it, happily, as though it is a reality. And we should, for faith demands this.

But there is a need for more...

I have friends who spend much time in prayer. Their days are filled with blessing others - they neglect themselves so much that I worry about their health. But - they seem to be the closest to Jesus of any I've met. 

We can be the final generation. We can be those modern reformers, but without the cross there is no crown... are we willing to give what it takes?

Are we open to laying our lives on the line, even if no one sees but Jesus? 

Are we willing to, like the early disciples, be of one accord? 

How many more decades will go by? Jesus could have come 128 years ago, we know. It's not unfaithfulness on His part that has left us on this planet.

Will we rise to the occasion, or must it be left to our children, or grandchildren?

This is my greatest burden. I don't want to see how much more depraved this planet can get. I know none of you do either. 

Let's accept the cross, and get out of here. We want to go home, yes. But the only way to get there, is to start walking - with Him.