What kind of world will my new grandson have?
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #07
February 17, 2025
What kind of world will my new grandson have?
My fourth grandson was born last week. He joins his older brother and his two older cousins as the children of our family. I can’t help but wonder what kind of world he will live to see. His frame of reference will be quite different from that of his older brother and his older cousins.
His older brother was baptized into the church of Christ in the town of Boonton. His cousins were baptized into Christ in the town of Bergenfield. He will be baptized in the town of Upper Saddle River. These are three congregations but one worldwide church of Christ.
All four of these boys have seen very different world and personal contexts at the time of their births.
My oldest was born when his parents were ending their relationship and his mom’s job was ended, forcing the two of them to live with me for a while.
My second grandson was born when his father was deployed overseas with the United States Army. Dad was not allowed to leave his deployment to witness the birth of his son.
My third grandson had the joy of being born with an older brother in the house, with a father who was back from serving overseas, but at a time when COVID was raging through the world.
My three older grandsons lived in a world where there was no Israeli-Gaza war and at a time when the Russian army was in their own country, not in Ukraine.
My newest grandson has been born into a world where these conflicts are raging, and our nation is questioning “how much force is enough” to punish terrorism.
Come to think of it, the world that my newest has been born into is similar to the world that I knew as a youth. We were worried about a foreign war. That one was in Vietnam. We had a few wars in the middle east and the United States was funding the Israeli military. Added to that, we had race riots in United States cities, including my own in Jersey City, and political assassinations. There was concern that granting full rights to non-white people would diminish white power in our country.
I’m wondering if our national issues have really changed since I was born sixty-six years ago. Maybe things are not as different as I had thought. Perhaps the nation that I knew, and the one my grandsons know aren’t really that different.
How did I survive a crazy world as a child? I had Christian mentors who taught me that my job in life was to do justice, to live righteously, and to walk humbly with God. They also taught me to love others, that means everyone, to obey the commandments and to pray daily. Such advice seemed to work. I attempted to teach these lessons to my daughters and now I hope to pass these on to my four grandsons.
No matter how crazy life can be, following these guidelines can give us spiritual depth to rise above the chaos. I hope to teach these by word and deed. May we all do this. Perhaps we can improve this world for the next generation.