40acts: The Lent Generosity ChallengeSample

We’re all better off when we’ve got people to turn to, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us. At no point does this scripture specify what kind of people are helping each other up. It could be a teenage skater befriending an elderly neighbour, or a middle-aged housewife bonding with a young person who’s been excluded from school. 

Churches are some of the last places where generations meet. But do we make the most of that chance?

I recall meeting with a group of skater guys, aged 14–16, who wanted to raise funds for a skate park. I walked into their town library, where they were sitting in their hoodies on these big wooden chairs around a grand old table. At first glance you wouldn’t have thought it, but these kids had real dreams for what they wanted to build in their community, and creativity in raising the money for it too!

Together we laid on an event that was a hit with their village. Out of that, we got to know one of those guys really well, and he spent a week at our summer camp, where he gave his life to Christ. I then began meeting up with him to read the Bible together. Now he’s a leader himself, and it all started with that unlikely library meeting. 

The barriers we create can prevent us building relationships and demonstrating love towards one another, be it technology, language, opinions, worldviews or experiences. Yet, with God, these barriers are not insurmountable. 

What might it look like for you to ‘adopt’ someone who is different from you? Perhaps it starts by introducing yourself to someone of a different generation. Amazing things could happen if, in Christ’s strength, we set aside the barriers: think of what we could learn from one another; think of how God could use you to speak into someone else’s life; and above all, think of Jesus, who overcame all barriers to save us.

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Age, occupation and social position don’t matter in God’s eyes – it’s about reaching out and showing His love, whatever. None of us knows how we might impact on someone else’s life by offering friendship and looking beyond the obvious to make a wonderful new relationship. 

 Find more about today’s 40acts challenge on our blog:   

https://40acts.org.uk/act-34-adopt/