Jesus Forgotten

I have been reading a book called "The Last Christian Generation" by Josh McDowell. What he said has broken my heart.

"The research on the current generation of young people reveals an alarming fact: they have redefined what it means to be Christian. The majority of our churched young people do not believe Christ is the Son of God, do not believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity, and think 'doing good' earns them a place in heaven. And just as disturbing is the fact that their attitudes and behavior are virtually no different than those of non-Christians."

How can you be a Christian and not believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Is it because of namby-pamby sermons and lessons that are spoken with the express purpose of attracting more people to church? In our desire to produce numbers and large crowds, we have forgotten Christ. Christ the Redeemer, Christ the Son of God, Christ the Savior, Christ the Lord- forgotten, ignored, belittled, and misrepresented. When a majority of young people who have grown up in church do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God- which, by the way, is THE central belief in Christianity- what is left? The answer: behavior modification. Be nice. Look good. Act cool. Get good grades. Wear your seat belt.

That is not Christianity, nor does it even resemble Christianity. Jesus came to turn this world- and our lives- upside down. Jesus is about transformation. Jesus is about radical love, radical discipleship, and radical life change. Unless the church starts teaching that- and the people start believing and living that- the church will fade into oblivion, like a flower cut off from its stem. It looks good for a while, but inside it is dead. The church without Jesus is dead. The church without Jesus may have a nice building, draw crowds, entertain, and be a nice place, but inside the people are dying, cut off from the Source of life. The church without Jesus will have a lot to answer for on the day of judgement, when we truly find out how real, how powerful, and how majestic Jesus truly is.

I would love to be part of a team that transforms this generation that has redefined what Christianity is into young people sold out to Jesus Christ. Sometimes it seems like too big a task. The only thing I can do is to magnify Christ- lift Him up, exalt Him as the highest Being, worthy of glory, honor, and praise. I can make it my life goal to make Christ and His glory known among the students of this world. I can make it my goal to, like Paul, preach Christ and Him crucified.

If I do that, at the end of my life, no one could say that I didn't love Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. If I do that, no one could say that they were around me and never knew that I was a Christian. And most importantly, no one could ever, ever say that I was one of the Christians that forgot Jesus.