Here’s another thought for us to ponder and meditate on.
On our youth nights we have been having some really honest and open discussions that are leading us to see where everyone is at in their understanding, knowledge and grasp of christianity and all that it is suppose to entail and mean. And it has been surprising to find out how little we know and how really growing up in a “christian home or environment” can have either very little or a lot of impact depending on the grasp we have of these truths.
So, Bible reading, prayer, worship, eternity, intimate and personal relationship with Jesus, grace, sin, forgiveness, redemption, sanctification, eternity, and all other things related to Christianity are at a very “low” level of understanding, conviction, relevancy and importance in our everyday lives!
Let’s take the Bible for example. Our youth at least at this stage and season of their lives are so busy, their schedules filled with activities like sports, homework, projects, college applications, friends, stress from all these things that reading a book they consider outdated, irrelevant, hard to understand, with big and old fashioned words (that’s how they feel about it anyways) that go over their heads is not in their top priorities. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, hanging out with friends and doing more of the “fun things” appeals more to them that sitting down for 20 minutes to read something they feel has no relevancy to their everyday lives!
So, how can we communicate the importance of looking at the Word of God as that which God intended it for and truly is? How can we get our students to believe that this Word is the only thing that will help us navigate through the lies and deceit intended to destroy our lives once we leave the shelter of our “christian homes and environment?”
And how about prayer? They’ve confessed that prayer is something they do mostly at meals and maybe at night or when they need something. How can we communicate about how prayer is our lifeline, our connection to the only true source of life, meaning, worth, value, peace, joy, truth, etc?
And how about the rest of these things like worship eternity, salvation, sin, heaven, hell, etc?
And how are WE doing? Us adults, the ones that have the charge, the mission, the calling to teach and disciple the generations coming after us? How’s our understanding of these truths and how vital and unshakeable are these truths in our lives?
So, the question we talked about last night was “what makes a christian?” how do you know you are truly a christian, a true disciple and follower of Jesus? When did you become one?
ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? HOW DO YOU KNOW?
So, I leave you with that thought. What’s at the core of truly being a disciple of Jesus? How’s that supposed to look? What are the true signs of being in an intimate, meaningful and thriving relationship with Jesus?