Luke 17:1-3 NIV
Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves."
*This week’s MMM is especially close to my heart and has been the most difficult to write. If you are expecting wit, wisdom and decent grammar, then you will probably be disappointed. However, I am asking you to read my broken heart in the lines to follow. As I studied the above verses, their implications became very real to me. I sat for hours writing this, praying, crying and deleting lines only to retype them again. I believe I am just going to go "all-in" and unburden my heart. The unsubscribe tool is at the bottom of the page. - Dave
Youth! I love to be around them. I love speaking in their services. I love their goofiness and their passion. Having spent several years as the head of the youth committee for a denominational district, I loathed "aging out" of the youth leader ranks. My experiences with youth groups has left a soft spot in my heart for teens.
Every time I'm in a church service, I find myself glancing at the young people." Are they engaged in worship?" "Are they connecting with the message and, more importantly, with God?" These questions flash through my mind.
In recent years, I have noticed a disturbing trend that appears to be everywhere. Besides the "youth group section", I notice more and more disconnected teens in the pews. I am always glad to see them in the service, but so many appear to only be there, physically. What breaks my heart is that a large majority of these kids in focus come from a background of family dysfunction. Look at their faces and one can see the emptiness, pain and confusion. Browse the public social media sites and you can read the posts of despair, depression and anger.
The pastors and counselors, who comprise the majority reading this e-votional, can attest that teens, whose Christian parents are struggling in their marriage or have divorced, are often struggling with their relationship with God. I know their pastor’s heart breaks as well. Their hearts break because this breaks God's heart! There isn't a week that goes by that I don't counsel, in some way or another, a hurting teen whose parents not only can't get it together, but refuse to allow God to get them together. In the above verse, Jesus had even stronger words for anyone causing a youth to stumble which literally includes causing them to walk away from their relationship with God. (Do a word study on the Greek - "skandalizo") Thankfully, God's grace reaches far beyond this; however, the pain inflicted on young lives is tragic and I believe that Christ will expect an account as he judges the believers.
I could write paragraphs, but it would only be to convey the idea that we can keep watching the teens in our churches walk away from the faith, or we can mobilize through God's power and minister or minister more to the primary influence'rs of these teens - their parents. We can touch a teen for Christ by investing a couple hours each week, but what would happen if we reached their parent's marriage or the wounded heart of a single parent?
Want to keep more teens for Christ? Touch the parent(s).
As always, the greatest thing that we can do is to heed Christ's warning in verse 3 - "Watch Yourselves". I am recommitting to that watch over my own life. The stakes are too high in the aspects of young lives and marriages. Also, there is coming a day when I will stand before God.
For Marriages and Youth,
Dave
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