Hey Kids, We Could Be The Ones

Born and raised in a Christian home. That's us. Knew every Bible story by heart by the time we were five. That's us. Knew how to carry on a conversation with adults when we were ten. That's us. Knew every word to every praise and worship song in existence. Accepted Christ into our hearts somewhere around the time we were learning to ride our bike. Memorized all the popular scriptures at some point in time, only to forget them a week later. That's us. Quickly learned how to pretend our faith when we turned 12 or so. That's us.

Many of us are second-generation Christians. Our parents were not raised in Christian settings, but they came to know their Savior later in life. They have the advantage of knowing the true changing power of our salvation, because they knew how they were before their conversion. For us though, we've never experienced anything other than Christianity. We have what can sometimes be a disadvantage: having been taught "right" and "wrong" for our entire lives to date. Even if you come from a long-time family of believers, you share in this disadvantage. We've all heard it over and over, that our parents are disappointed in their generation of failure, and they want nothing more than for our generation to be the one that brings revival to this morally declining world. It's easy to get excited about revolutions and revivals, but they will amount to nothing if we cannot understand the basic truths of OUR faith. Our salvation is no less amazing than the salvation of our parents. They may have been living terrible lives even according to the world's standards, but to God's standards we are all living terrible lives. Our salvation is just as huge and dramatic as any there ever was, because we were born sinners the same as everyone else.

Do you understand the full meaning of Christ's redeeming work on the Cross? Do you believe that the Cross forgave you, and that the Resurrection brought your soul to life again? Do you trust that the Bible is the infallible Word of God? Do you realize that you a sinner by nature, but seen as pure and holy by God because of the new life you have been given? Do you understand that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and God created everything about you in a way pleasing to Him? Do you understand why you believe what you believe?

In five or so years, our generation is going to be thrown into the prime of our lives. We'll be on our own. Will our faith stand, though? Do you believe that right now you have a relationship with your God that is going to stand firm through everything the world is going to throw at you in the years to come? You can go through the motions for as long as you like, but if you don't have the heart that believes to back your motions up, you will crumble under the pressures. If you remain in your local church throughout your college years and beyond, are your relationships with the other youth in your church founded solidly upon the truths of God's Word? Are you pursuing godly relationships that will help you band together in years to come in order to make a stand for the Gospel? Are you going to spend your adult years arguing over issues with brothers and sisters in Christ, or showing the love of God to a needy world?

If you aren't building up for yourself a passion for God now, in the days of your youth, what is to say you will have the desire to do so later in life? We are the next generation, expected by the previous generation to be used in a mighty way by God, but all that depends on the choices you are making now. Are you preparing yourself to be a powerful instrument in a movement that could shake this world and everything they believe? Do you even want God to work through you in what could be a turning point in the history of this world?

Spend time in His Word. Pray for God to prepare your heart and mind. Build your relationships with the Christian youth of this world. A cord of three strands is not easily torn apart. How much stronger is a cord of 3000 strands? How about 3 million believers working together to complete the Great Commission? Seek the advice of the passing generation. Soak in their wisdom, learn from their mistakes. We could be the ones. Are you ready to be part of God's revolution?