So which generation are you? They have names now, you know.
I wondered where the naming of generations came from…and found this:
“According to Peter Francese, a demographic and consumer markets expert, Baby Boomers were the first named generation to exist. (Those that came earlier, like The Greatest Generation that fought in World War II, were named retroactively.) It all started when the Census Bureau referred to the years between 1946 and 1964, during which birthrates rocketed up from around 3 million a year to over 4 million a year, as the ‘Post War Baby Boom.” As the kids born in this boom started to grow into adults (and thus, consumers), ad agencies found traction by marketing their products to so-called Baby Boomers. This would be the first (and so far last) time a generation’s ‘official’ name would come from a government organization.”[1]
Yep, the desire for the dollar is what prompted generational designation.
Now we have generations labeled as (whose ages as of 2019 are given):
Silent (ages 74–91); Boomers (ages 55–73); Generation X (ages 39–54); Millennials (ages 23–38); and Generation Z (ages 7–22).
Each generation has a stigma—a marking—that defines its character.
In The Anointing R. T. Kendall writes,
“The task of every generation is to discover in which direction the Sovereign Redeemer is moving, then move in that direction” (page 73) and in that direction, “Every generation has a stigma by which the believer’s faith is tested” (page 161).
Could it be that just as there are natural characteristics of generations, there are spiritual characteristics of generations as well?
In reading Hebrews 11 we can notice the various faith stigmas (marks) that distinguished the generations; and how each particular stigma is not simply a repeat for the next generation.
For example, J. Vernon McGee shares how Abel showed the way of faith; Enoch illustrated the walk of faith; and Noah exhibited the witness of faith.
In practicing Kendall’s excellent challenge to each generation of believer, we must seek to find the direction God is moving and get in step with Him.
And believe me, God is on the move in this world.
Which leads me to the question:
What would the last generation, regardless of natural age, be called?
My answer:
The “Willing” Generation.
“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth” (Psalms 110:3 KJV).
