Being a Christian in a Teenage World - Steven's Special Devo

Today I get free reign to write on whatever I please, so this week I want to talk about being a Christian in the teenage world. Is it truly uncool and awkward to talk about Jesus among your non-Christian friends? How do teenagers broadcast Jesus? I am going to touch on both these subjects, and be warned; I might get a bit offensive.
Whenever I talk about the Bible, or God, or Jesus when I'm with my non-Christian friends, they tend to get a bit uncomfortable. When teenagers get uncomfortable, it's not because they are offended by Christianity, it's because we are actually talking about serious things. Serious, personal, and deep subjects often hit teenagers' off-switch like none other. Why, you ask? Because whenever my non-Christians hear about God or Jesus or the Bible, it evokes images of prim and proper, boring, and sterile lives. It evokes images of fire and brimstone, of Puritanism, of judgment and hypocrisy. Worst of all, it evokes images of change. Yeah, I said it. Whenever a teenager thinks of change, they start to squirm. This is because if we need to change, then there is something in our lives that is not right, and we do not want to admit that.

My non-Christian friends do not want to admit that something in their lives is not right, that their fun is the wrong type of fun, that many of the words that come out of their mouths are wrong, that the things that they do are wrong. It takes humility and open-mindedness to see that, and let's all face it: teenagers are probably among the most prideful and sometimes narrow-minded people in humanity, right up there with the dictators. This begs the question, how do we get through to our peers? Well the obvious answer is to live like Jesus, but the challenge is how? How do people know that it we are living Jesus or that we are merely nice people? I believe that there must be a bit of vocalization (or proclamation as Jon put it) on our parts. That does not mean standing on your table in the cafeteria and holding a sermon; what I mean is, do not focus so much on other people's lives when talking about Jesus, but rather your own. Your testimony cannot be questioned or shot down as false. Your testimony is probably the most important tool in your evangelical arsenal besides the Bible. Use it when the moment is right, and you can plant seeds in the hearts of your peers. You are all smart kids, so I'm positive that you guys will find the right moment, but I want to be positive that when that moment comes, you would take it and try to extend our family of Christ.
Now then, we know how to vocalize Jesus, but how do we live like Jesus as teenagers? The mark of the teen spirit is raging hormones, wild parties, conformity, rebellion, and the desire to be noticed and accepted. This seems to be a stark contradiction to what Christ stood for. We are all very performance-oriented. What that means is almost every action or thought we make is based off of the question, “will this get people to notice/like/respect me?” Don't deny it. I accept it, because I know that I also want people to like and respect me. But the difference is, I want to do that through being a follower of Jesus. And if people like and respect me because I am living out Jesus, then I am planting seeds of Christ in my peers' hearts. Yeah, it's a bit twisted, but tell me this, how can we beat the very tendencies that make us human? We can't, so we have to work with what we got. This means that whenever I go to a party, I refuse to drink and smoke and lust, and if any of that is there, then I would either leave or stubbornly hold my ground. Both of those actions proclaim Christ. I try my best never to swear, I try to not gossip, and I try to be accepting and loving. Sure I fail at times, but when I get back on my feet and try again, that proclaims Christ too. Thus, I have a challenge for you, instead of basing your actions off of “will this get people to notice/like/respect me?”, base it off of “will this help people see the greatness of Jesus?” I dare you.

Thursday: Pray for the church (small c)
Praise God for baby Emmaus, he will turn 1 month old on Sunday.