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Kara E. Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, once said: “In reality, Jesus’ vision for intergenerational relationships was anything but cute. It was and is both radical and revolutionary.” At first, this statement startled me. This was a different vision from the Jesus depicted in most Sunday school books, sitting on a rock somewhere with children gathered around as if story hour were about to begin.

I am sure Jesus was kind and gentle with children. But the love that Jesus shows us throughout the Gospels is indeed “radical and revolutionary.” It is a love that walks with “tax collectors and sinners,” a love that stands with all who are oppressed and all who live on the margins. It is a love that so strongly identifies with “the least of these,” that Jesus makes a point of saying, in effect, “When you see them, you see me!”

Jesus’ love builds and transforms us into the one human family we were meant to be. But don’t be fooled. As it turns out, we are all “tax collectors and sinners,” all in need of the radical love of God, all hungry for the same Bread of Life.

This message is excerpted from the Bible study “The journey of generations” by Violet Cucciniello Little in the May 2021 Gather magazine.