****In the wake of a horrible tragedy in Boston, an act of
senseless violence that brings more questions then answers, I want to encourage
us all to pray for the victims and their families. It is moments like these
that I am reminded of how sinful this world really is. We are all in desperate
need of a Savior, Jesus Christ, to heal our sinful and wounded hearts with His
love. May you be a vessel to carry His love and Good News to somebody this
week. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your
God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand”
(Isaiah 41:10)****
I love
working with teens! Young, maturing minds that are hungry to know more and grow
closer to God. Culture often writes them off as being unruly or immature, but
that is only because that is the voiced expectation that has been placed on
them. Really they want to be pushed and challenged, yet somehow we fail them
and allow the popular norms to permeate their thinking. Many have succumbed to
placing a higher value on fun then substance.
Many
times the first question I hear when inviting a teen to a youth event is “am I
going to have fun?” Or I hear “my son doesn’t want to go to church because it
isn’t any fun for him.” Sometimes when I ask a student why they are dating
their girlfriend/boyfriend the response is “I don’t know…we are just having
fun.”
Everyone
likes to have fun, but when fun becomes an ultimate value we begin to idolize
it. We will sacrifice substance and values to attain a subjective fleeting
value. When fun becomes a motivating factor it leads us to make bad decisions.
In dating and relationships, fun can be compelling and exciting but also very
destructive.
The fun
and excitement of pursuing or being pursued can be intoxicating. Sometimes the
fun of it becomes overwhelming and clouds decisions leading to sinful mistakes.
For others, the initial excitement begins to wear off and they begin to push
the limits to feel the fun and excitement. This leads to an accelerated pace of
an already bad situation. What’s next? Teenage pregnancy, STDs, raw emotions, alienation
from family, friends and God or at the very least a broken heart.
What
happens then? Is a person worthless because they went against God’s plan? No
way! One mistake, or many mistakes, does not change the value of you! Yet when
someone finds himself or herself in that place they often feel like they
deserve to punish themselves by making more mistakes. Others convince
themselves that God would never accept them back so they continue in their sin.
It is
so important that we understand the truth of the Gospel and share it. When we
sin God has provided a way through Jesus Christ to find forgiveness and hope.
If we come to God and confess our sins He will forgive (1 John 1:9). Not only
that but, through Jesus, He will begin a new work in our hearts. Never let past
sins define your future. Confess and turn to Jesus and see what kind of future
He has planned for you (Jeremiah 29:11).
When we
begin to see life through the lens of the Gospel, we will see that God wants us
to have a blessed life that is substantial. He wants us to reflect His glory to
the world (Matthew 5:16) and when we do this, we will see that following God is…well,
fun I guess, without regrets tied to it!
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