Good Question!

Last night I had the distinct privilege of sharing with our student ministry in a “question/answer” type format.  Not only was I impressed with the depth and level of their questions, but I was also a bit taken back by the interest and energy they showed while listening.  Clearly there was a hunger among them that showed a desire to know more about their faith in Jesus Christ and how they could live the Christian life more effectively.  The evening will certainly be one of the highlights of my summer.

  As I have thought back over their line of questioning, it has occurred to me that there is a prevailing philosophy among modern day Christianity that is troubling.  The uninhibited honesty of our students simply brought out an issue that so many adults deal with today but are too “spiritual” to ask.  Namely, “What is the least common denominator in an authentic Christian life?”  It is clearly evident to all, especially our students that our culture is moving farther and farther away from the principles of righteousness set forth by the Word of God.  Therefore, the prevailing desire seems to be to find a way to live comfortably in this world without forfeiting the benefits of salvation; especially the eternal life in heaven part.  These students have lived their entire lives in a spiritual climate that might best be described as “lukewarm.”  They can see the inconsistencies between their culture and faith and are honestly concerned about their own spiritual wellbeing.  As I told them last night, don’t ever be afraid to ask the hard questions.  God clearly instructed us to “seek and you shall find.”  

  My prayer for all of us, young and old alike, is that we adopt a new philosophy which leads to a new line of questioning.  Seeing that we can no longer conform to the likeness of this world and look anything at all like a true believer, why try?  Wouldn’t it be better to go all in for Jesus Christ and enjoy the fullness of His grace without trying to conform to this broken and condemned world?  Paul wrote that he was "not ashamed of the gospel.”  Our Lord is calling out an army of people from all walks of life that are willing to make this same claim.  Instead of asking about the least that we can do to get by, now is the time to ask how we can serve our Lord better, represent Him more clearly and love Him more dearly.  Imagine, an army of people sold out to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Wow!

 Come on, let’s do it.