Deep Roots
In my experience if you ask a young person to explain what Christians believe concerning abortion, sex before marriage, euthanasia, or homosexuality, they would probably be able to give you an answer. However, ask them to explain why Jesus had to die in order for our sins to be forgiven, and many would really struggle.
It is so important that we help young people get a grasp on what Christians actually believe.
Imagine you are 13; you are being bullied at school because you go to church and believe in God. At night you lay awake thinking about this. You don't really know why you believe in God; you don't know why Christianity is important. In fact, you are not even sure what Christians believe. So you come to the conclusion that you might as well turn your back on this whole ‘Christianity thing' because that will probably mean the bullying will stop.
Sounds logical enough, doesn't it?
Now imagine another 13 year old who is also being bullied at school because they go to Church and believe in God. They also lay awake at night thinking about their situation. The difference is that they do understand what Christians believe, they do understand why Christianity is so important. They realise that however desperate they are for the bullying to stop they simply cannot reject Jesus because the consequences are just too big. They come to the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to turn to Jesus, not turn from him.
Jesus, in his ‘Parable of the Sower' says, “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” [Mark 4:16-17] We need to help young people ‘grow roots that are deep'. Enabling them to grasp what Christians believe is a key part in this process.
This is not to say that looking at social and ethical issues isn't important – it is. We certainly should be helping young people engage with these issues. However, we also need to make sure that we spend considerable time looking at what Christians believe – because this provides the foundations on which everything else can be built.
I love Paul's letters because throughout them he is always recapping on the essentials. You don't go long in any of Paul's letters before you get to a paragraph that explains the core of the Christian message – a quick memory jogger of what Jesus achieved for us on the cross. In doing this he is continually providing us the context for everything else he is saying. He's continually strengthening the foundations on which everything else is built. In this way, the letters of Paul provide us with a good model for our youth work.
Phil Green, *essential Project Director
Article originally published on the Evangelical Alliance's *essential website.
