So it's been a while. Actually almost two years. But my mind was racing tonight so I thought I'd start up my blog again. I had a conversation with an old friend today that got me thinking and decided I had to write it out.
But here's the topic on my mind tonight: today's youth.
I know what you're thinking...Aren't you today's youth? Maybe I am but as I said in that conversation earlier today, I feel like things have changed even in the past 5 years in terms of America's youth. If you didn't already know, I work with the high school youth group at my church. I love those students. They're my little brothers and sisters. I want
the best for them, and sometimes that means challenging and stretching
them. So when I talk about youth, this is the population that I'm mainly talking about. So yes, it's only been 5 years since I finished high school, but boy does it seem like a lifetime sometimes when I look at these kids.
To my high schoolers: if you're reading this I'm so happy you are! I want you to know I love you with all my heart and I love watching God work in your lives. So please don't take this post the wrong way, but don't think you're excluded from it, either. Think of it as a bit of a wake up call. Maybe a chance to look at your life honestly and determine if you fall into what I'm about to say.
I guess my issue tonight is that I feel sad when I think about the direction our youth is headed. What I want to see is a generation of passionate, on fire students. Kids ready to sacrifice anything for a cause. Willing to dedicate themselves to what they love no matter what the cost. Committed. On fire. Relentless. In everything they do. What happened to "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God"? I see it peeking out in some of my students lives. They go on missions trips or they talk about conversations they had with friends at school. I'm so proud of them. But I want to see it go beyond that. I want to see this...intensity in everything. After all, isn't our most powerful testimony the way we live our lives? How can we say we love Christ with everything inside of us and be content to go to church twice a week and continue with our lives till Sunday sneaks up again and we have to recognize all those boarder-line questionable things we did throughout the week? And I say "we" because I've seen myself fall into this trap, too.
But maybe that's part of the problem.
Maybe they don't have a dedicated, sacrificing, passionate, committed, on fire, relentless example to follow. As a leader in the youth group, this thought is convicting. Am I pushing these kids to be the best they can be? Am I challenging them to live life for Christ, no matter what the cost? Am I teaching my girls exactly what it is to be a Godly woman? Like I said, it's the way we live our lives that is our biggest testimony. So this summer I'm going to challenge myself to change...or maybe grow is a better word. How can I expect my students to grow if I don't do the same?
Sometimes it seems so impossible to make a difference here in this upper-middle class town. How do you reach teenagers who already have everything they could ask for? I know what it's like - I went to the same high school as a lot of these kids. I know how it feels to see your friends handed everything they could want. I know some of our kids are the ones getting whatever they ask for. I've seen how that can damage a person...take away their appreciation for hard work and dedication. Take away their independence without them even noticing. And there's a sense of entitlement. But here's the thing: the one thing that matters - the only thing that we forget to ask for that we desperately need - is salvation. And no one is entitled to that. I don't care who you are or where you grew up, you're not entitled to eternal life. Don't get me wrong, God wants you to have it. It's His gift to you. He loves you unconditionally and couldn't want anything more than to give you this precious gift. But you did nothing to deserve it. You're not entitled to a relationship with Christ. So please, please, don't take that for granted. Don't act like you deserved it and the person next to you in class doesn't...after all we've all fallen short of the glory of God. But isn't that what we do when we go on with our normal, everyday lives without showing God's unconditional and amazing love to that person next to you in class?
Dig deep. Dust off the Bible, the devotional book you bought with good intentions, the prayer journal you haven't touched in ages. Find your passion again. Fight off the apathy. Because the idea of raising a generation of kids who don't do everything they can to reach the world for Christ? Well that scares me to death. But in Christ, all things are possible. Even changing the attitude of an entire generation.
