1st Generation Christian
While Bible talks a lot about many generations and how blessing is passed from generation to generation, there is one particular verse that I want to mention here.
“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.”
Deuteronomy 7:9 NLT
But, here, I’m going to talk about first generation Christians. What exactly first generation Christian ? Is there any many mentions of the same in the Bible ?
For those who don’t know what is mean by first generation Christian, to give an example really quick, the 12 disciples who followed Jesus are 1st generation Christians or the 1000s added per the book of “Acts” or “Acts of the Apostles” they all are first generation Christians.
Another way to explain this is, if you , like me coming to the Christianity from another religion, then you’re a first generation Christian too.
Now , what’s the significance of this first generation Christians ? (If any)
Part of the reason why I wanted to write this as one of my blog is because we (me and my wife) were denied and kind of put into shame when the then pastor of our previous church told us in front of everyone in the congregation that we are first generation Christians (and thus, not eligible to become leaders of the church , more specifically pastor of the church) I’m not going in to the detail why he said what he said , even though we found the reason later.
Thank God that we worship and serve a living God who speaks and more importantly He speaks to the occasion/situation that you and I pray about.
When I couldn’t take it what the (then) pastor said, I took it straight to the Lord , and indeed He answered me. I just wanted you to think about what the Lord said ,
If Jesus is looking for someone to go spread the Gospel and establish churches all over the world , Jesus would still be searching for a “NOT a first generation Christian” even today. Jesus would be still searching for a “seasoned or 2nd/3rd/nth generation Christian” till today, because the very 12 disciples that Jesus chose are indeed first generation Christians. In fact, Christianity today being the world’s largest religion (approximately 3 billion) today due to the fact that, the first generation Christians we read in the Gospels went through out the world and spread the good news of Jesus Christ and of course the subsequent generations carried out the mandate, resulting in what we are today (Christianity as a religion)
This writing/blog is NOT in form or shape to diminish/discourage/ deny any and all of the many amazing things done and accomplished by generational Christians, but only to encourage the first generation Christians who come to follow Christ for the first time. Being a first generation Christian is , believe me is not easy, but that’s the blessing. Its kind of roller coaster ride. If you’re coming to follow Christ from a different religion, even from a traditional Christian family background, but not really followed Christ, you’re up against ,
1. The whole hell
2. Your own family (possibly)
that leaves you …. well almost ALONE, but God is with you. One of the revelation that God gave me when I went through some of the situations that I mentioned above, is , you’ll follow Christ, if you really don’t care about yourself (NOT selfish) , but only about your next generation(s). This revelation really broke some of the chains/bondages in my life. I hope and pray , this revelation will break some of the hard situations that you’re facing in your life if you’re a first generation Christian.