The more I do youth ministry the more I am convinced that we need to be teaching a proper understanding of what hell is to our students, especially to those who have grown up in the church. I am finding more and more that if you’ve been a Christ-follower since you were 5 and your 17 now, there is no understanding of being "saved" from a lifestyle that leads to eternity separated from God. Sure they know that Jesus paid for their sin on the cross, but most don’t feel the weight of what that sin leads to…eternity in hell if they didn’t have Jesus! How can you when you're five. I am sure that Noah understands that there is a problem and it's name is sin, but I wonder if he feels it? I think this is one of the reasons high school students who’ve grown up in the church don’t share the gospel. They’ve never felt what it was like to be lost in their sin and then ambushed by the love of a Savior who found them. They've never felt the darkness and been stunned by the light. Thoughts?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A theology of hell
The more I do youth ministry the more I am convinced that we need to be teaching a proper understanding of what hell is to our students, especially to those who have grown up in the church. I am finding more and more that if you’ve been a Christ-follower since you were 5 and your 17 now, there is no understanding of being "saved" from a lifestyle that leads to eternity separated from God. Sure they know that Jesus paid for their sin on the cross, but most don’t feel the weight of what that sin leads to…eternity in hell if they didn’t have Jesus! How can you when you're five. I am sure that Noah understands that there is a problem and it's name is sin, but I wonder if he feels it? I think this is one of the reasons high school students who’ve grown up in the church don’t share the gospel. They’ve never felt what it was like to be lost in their sin and then ambushed by the love of a Savior who found them. They've never felt the darkness and been stunned by the light. Thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
"They’ve never felt what it was like to be lost in their sin and then ambushed by the love of a Savior who found them. They've never felt the darkness and been stunned by the light."
Dan, that pretty much says it all. I grew up in the church and that's how I feel. I've never felt lost in my sin without Christ. Lost in my sin, knowing that He loves me anyway? Yes. Lost in my sin, without the knowledge of his love? No. Not really.
So ... what now? And what does that mean for our students? No idea. I don't know what it means for me. Do I walk into the darkness so that I, too, can know the ambush of his love? I expect the ambush, though ... I know that it is coming ... I know that He will not leave me ... so it's not really the same, is it?
Aaaagghhh!
Jen, I think the one thing I've heard from those who've walked 50 plus years with Jesus is they are more aware of their sinfulness today than they were 30 years ago.
Post a Comment