Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1. Peter 1:3

I came home late last night after a day in Boise. I had a few appointments in the valley but spent most of the time driving my car up and down Highway 95. On the way back a partial rainbow appeared through the clouds over Indian Valley. A stream of color and light poured out of the clouds as if from an unseen pitcher. It’s probably not good driving practice to gawk at rainbows while maneuvering my SUV through curves but it was such a beautiful, unexpected phenomena. It felt like gift.

Afterwards I tried to read before bedtime but couldn’t concentrate much so I scrolled through the television listings. We’ve cut back on  the satellite programming so there wasn’t much: football and more football, shopping channels and Angela Lansbury solving predictable mysteries. Then something got my attention, a recent Hillsong Conference which was airing.   “Why not,” I thought. Nothing else was interesting.

Within a few minutes, I changed my mind. The performance, “Let There Be Light” is from Hillsong’s latest album and title song. Truthfully I know very little about current Christian music other than the songs at church and those I hear on the radio. Truthfully, I don’t even like some of it. However, this was different.

What I heard was talented singers and musicians pouring out their voices, playing instruments and worshiping God. What I heard was inspired by the Scriptures from Genesis to John. What I heard was songs of praise, honoring Jesus as the only Light of this world. What I heard was young people lyrically singing the Word of God with passion and suddenly I caught a glimpse of how it might have been when David’s Temple singers sang before the Lord.

What I saw was thousands and thousands of young people responding and worshiping along with leaders on the stage. What I saw was faces filled with joy, hands raised to God, hearts freely responding to the Holy Spirit’s Presence. If earlier I saw color and light pouring from the clouds, it was now like heavenly music emanating from the darkness of the screen. What I saw on my bedroom television, half a planet away from Australia fills me with great hope. If what I sensed in Hillsong is true, God is ordaining a new generation of young, vibrant believers that not only loves God but goes after Christ whole heartedly, a generation which proclaims the Gospel of salvation in all the world just as the disciples did. In song and in music, by prayer and by preaching, it is the same God proclaiming, Let There Be Light through them.

The devil is ceaselessly wicked and a cunning liar. Despite fears to the contrary the end is not yet here. Jesus said that only the Father knows the time of the end so why are Christians fussing, attempting to crack open what is God’s mystery?  Millennials are not where Christianity will die out as  the devil’s shills in the culture claim. Christ’s Resurrection is the living hope of the generations after us and   they are witnessing through music.   In fact it is young people’s faith in the Word of God that can prop up those of us pretty battered  by this world. They radiate   beautiful Light out  of dark clouds.

Lord,  along with  these young believers, we proclaim Your Light is our eternal living hope right now and tomorrow and tomorrow after , that forever more.   I’ll sing to that!