It's January and for many teenagers and students, it's the second worst time of year apart from June. Why? Examssss! Let's be honest we all hate them. We hate them because revision is so boring; we are left with a constant fear that lingers in us, the list goes on... But above all else, the biggest hatred for exams is to do with time.
We are constantly waiting for exams to be over. Ever find yourself making a list of all the fun things you're going to do after exams finish? We say to ourselves, I will enjoy life more when exams are over, or I will become a better person when exams are over. For me I've said to myself I will start eating healthily after exams because it's not humanly possible to revise without chocolate!
Often people have this same attitude to God as they do to the exam period. I was talking to my school Chaplain a few months ago and she said to me something along the lines of, 'For most people with a Christian upbringing, they wait until they're adults until they make any real commitment of faith for themselves'. At the time I nodded my head and accepted that. Looking back I'm thinking that really shouldn't be something that's just accepted.
The bible says 'It is time to seek the Lord' i.e. right now. Having God in your life isn't something which should be left on hold until you're an adult, a bit like waiting for exams to be over. Before you know it, you've waited until teenage life is over.. then until adulthood is over.. then until life is over. For me, being a Christian is not like exams where you are waiting for something better, a life with more meaning. All that is not something to wait for, but something to be found, in Jesus.
"The Bible says: "it is time to seek the Lord", how would you suggest people go about that? Most young people have busy lives and would struggle to get up for church on a Sunday! Is simply praying in a time of need appropriate? Or would you suggest that teenagers should commit themselves properly to a faith?
ReplyDeleteEcc. 12.1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.
ReplyDeleteLife doesn't get less busy with a wife and kids. Youth is a time for seeking and finding God.
James :) you talk about God as if He is something to fit around a busy timetable. Try flipping it on it's head and fitting your timetable around God. One of the biggest challenges as a Christian but what's the point of being a Christian half-heartedly?
ReplyDelete"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (Jesus)