Burdened for our Young People

I have been burdened in my spirit so much lately.  It usually begins after I visit my Facebook.  I only rarely "unfriend" people on my Facebook.  I have many of the "friends" that used to hang out with my older girls.  These young people, like my older two, are starting their adult lives.  Some are in college.  Some are working.  Some are trying to figure their lives out.  Some are already married and beginning families. 

I am grieved for many of these young adults.  My husband and I attempted to reach into their lives for years.  Many of them went to church with us, were a part of our family, and know our faith.  We were far from perfect, but we always felt led to pray for them, to encourage them to walk with Christ, to teach them.

They filled up our minivan.  They were with us on Wednesday evenings and Sundays.  They were in Church and at the summer Youth Camps.  They were praising God and reading the Word.  Some were in and out, and some were very devoted. 

Then, over the years, they fell away one by one.  They turned to the world.  They decided that living for Christ was not as important as living for themselves.  They took every mistake they saw in Christians, and said they were all hypocrites.  They saw the mistakes of my children, their Christian friends, and said that living a Holy life was impossible. 

Now many of them are not living for Christ.  They have decided that the Christian life is not for them.  They have rejected Christ.

After all of these years, my husband and I still feel burdened for these young people and the children we teach.  It is so very difficult to reach even young children at times.  Their hearts are growing hard at younger and younger ages.  It is difficult to compete with the world.  But, even though the influences of school, media, and peers are difficult to surmount, I've seen prayer and fasting for these young people break all kinds of chains. 

The most difficult battle in reaching young people is, sadly, the lives these young people go home to every day.  I feel strongly that no one should usurp the authority of parents, even unsaved ones.  God granted authority to parents for a reason.  Reaching young people for Christ on a long-term basis when they come from unsaved homes has proven to be difficult. 

It is difficult to teach young people today that the Bible is God's Holy Word when they only see it or hear it in church.  When they go home, they see and hear a completely different message.  When they go to school, the Bible and God is not there.  What we are left with is young people that act one way in church and another way outside of church.  They become what they hate:  fakes, hypocrites.  They long for the true power of Christ to transform their lives, but still want the approval of their families and peers.  To keep from feeling like a fake, they walk away from a relationship with Christ.

Others try to play both sides for awhile.  Eventually, though, the truth comes out.  There comes a point where they have to choose if they are a fence-sitter or completely devoted.  They have to decide if their faith is truly what they believe, or just what they've gone along with because of their buddies.  Some kids, whose parents are Christians, have to decide if their faith is their true belief, or just what their parents believe.

One young person confessed recently that, as an official adult, he didn't believe everything in the Bible.  The Bible wasn't an authority in his life.  He enjoyed some of his activities that went directly against the Bible.  He had rationalized that God would forgive him, and so seared his heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 

A young woman, however, realized that her double life wasn't worth it any longer.  She craved God.  She had felt the betrayal of the world, the shallowness that left her empty.  She turned back, repented, and began again.  Unfortunately, her story is not common.  Most don't turn back, they just fill that emptiness with other worldly things.

I once heard a pastor say that, "If you aren't hungry for God, it is because you are too full of other things."

As a teacher, and a mother, I see a lot of children and young people every week.  They come to church, many times with a desire for God.  But as they get older, they get full of other things.  They long for that acceptance from family and friends.   When the family isn't Christian, then there is no example before them in the place that is the strongest influence in their lives. 

One young lady told me bluntly that she wanted a "season" of fun, but that she would probably come back to the "church" later.  There was no relationship with the living Christ, just a duty to be a good person and go to church when she got older.  While I appreciated her honesty, I was grieved by the reality that she might never turn to Christ and trust Him with her life, even if she did decide one day to go back to "church".  Statistically, most don't return.  

Sadly, even some parents that profess to be Christians don't have a strong faith at home.  Joyce Meyer once stated that, "Who you are at home is who you are."  If your children don't see you praying, in your Word, and living out what you say you believe, it won't matter how many church activities they are in.  They may see you struggle and make mistakes, but watching you repent and depending on Christ to lead you through your challenges makes a strong impact.  It's the living the lie, being double-minded and unapologetic about it, that leaves them not wanting the faith their parents say they have but don't live outside of the church walls.

I know that I was an exception to the statistics.  I walked away from "church" at nearly fifteen.  I didn't return until my early thirties.  It was only because my life seemed to be falling apart that I even opened up my heart enough to allow Christ an opportunity.  It was only because my husband first made the choice to rededicate his life to Christ that I was influenced to try.  Christ broke my heart when I gave Him a chance.  I knew that my decision for Christ would be lifelong and life changing, or not at all.  It was all or nothing.

I understand those young people that have walked away.  I know that, at one time, I was one of them.  It took tragic circumstances to open my heart.  I hope that these other young people open their hearts to Christ without it coming to anything quite like the circumstances where I found myself and my family.  However, I also know that, often, the world has to crash in before people open their hearts enough to allow Christ to come in.  The things of the world have to leave a person pretty empty before many of them realize that the emptiness can only be filled with Christ.

If one of my former "kids" is reading this, please know that I pray for you still.  I pray that you return to your first love.  I pray that you find, once again and permanently, the One that loves you more than anyone on this earth could.  I pray that the Holy Spirit would bombard your heart and leave you knowing that you only need Christ.  I pray that you would feel His love and want that in your life.  I pray that, when it comes to that tragic moment when your life is shattered and your heart is laid bare, you remember the One that has loved you since the beginning of time and can fill that emptiness that nothing else has ever been able to fill.  My prayers for you have not and will not cease.