Problems plaguing young Christians today, part 1

I beg you to hear me out. This is one of the most important post series I have ever done. If you never read anything else I write again, please read these next couple posts..

This post is for Christians. I don't care if you're liberal, conservative, whatever, whether or not you agree with what I've done in the past, if you define yourself as a Christian, no matter what else, please read this post. 


I have felt put upon to do this post for a long time, by the holy spirit. I don't have an outline, or a degree, or anything else. I just have what I've seen in my personal experience and what I have read in the Bible.

We, the next generation of Christians, are the next generation of lights in this broken world. We are the next generation of warriors. You, straight-B you, off-key-singer you, behind-par-on NaNoWriMo you, average height, average weight, seemingly untalented Christian you, are going to have to learn to stand up for your God in a world that is more vicious, more confused, more problematic, more lost than ever before.

But I have seen so much to make me think and worry that we as the church's next generation aren't ready to take on this challenge. We're stuck in the world's nets, we're stagnant, we're fearful, we're lost ourselves. Some days we feel so far from God we don't know what's true or not. So I've written this post as your sister in Christ to address some of these issues. I write what I write not out of judgment, not out of arrogance, not out of hatred but out of love and my genuine concern for you, and for the rest of the world.

So why is this post important?

Christians are on this earth for a reason. If all we needed to do was accept Jesus, secure a ticket to heaven, and just do whatever for the rest of our lives, God would have just stuck us in heaven immediately. But we were here for a purpose. There are many purposes, but the one I'm going to address is life is a test.

Life is a test run, a tryout before the real thing. Heaven isn't just a place of comfort and relaxation, heaven is where we, as humans, finally get to be in a place where we are what we were meant to be. But first we need to grow and get strong and ready on Earth first. We need to do our best to follow God's will and God's plan, because God's plan is the only plan that leads to triumph.  Christians have to trust God's plan and follow it to the best of our ability. And God is very clear that he has the best intentions for you.

"The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10"

God knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you need. Following God's plan  will bring you a life that is thrilling, joyful, and just right.


So here I am as I write three(maybe just two) of the roots of the biggest obstacles we face.

1. Confusion, doubt, and uncertainty

My stomach is literally in knots right now. My heart breaks for the hundreds of you out there who are so lost and confused about God. This is one of the biggest problems. Address this and the path will be a lot clearer.

SO MANY CHRISTIANS don't know what God wants, don't know what God's rules and plans are, and don't know who God is.

I have seen Christians fall and disagree and stumble when it comes to the topics of:
-other religions
-abortion
-homosexuality
-the purpose of life
-good and evil
-Satan
-war/violence


A lot of "Christians" don't believe in the whole Bible, only the parts that make them feel warm and cozy inside.

A lot of "Christians" don't believe that God has a definition, and he's some sort of shapeshifting ninja that exists to make everybody happy and sunshiney.

A lot of "Christians" think that even though everyone believes different things about Christianity and God, they're all true and right.

I wouldn't be surprised if you fell into one of those three categories, or maybe all of them. A lot of you don't want to believe The Bible and what the Bible says about God because in order for those things to be right, maybe your friends, your family, even you yourself would have to be wrong.

"The Bible's version of Christianity is screwy." you might say. "It excludes too many people. The whole point of religion is to make everybody feel happy and awesome, so I prefer to believe my own concoction of different religions and stuff that I came up with myself." 

Well, may I ask you, do you believe in truth? Not the truth about Christianity, just normal truth in general. Like, the truth about this wall that I'm leaning against as I write this.

Truth is the basis of everything. Without truth, we have no right, no wrong, no nothing. Without truth, everything gets instantly blurry, like a telescope out of focus.

The truth is exclusive, too.

This wall that I'm leaning against is about ten feet high. That's the truth. That's the way it is. You can't come along and tell me "This wall doesn't exist." or "this wall is only four feet high, not ten." or "This wall is really a magical hologram that will part to let me through". All those people are excluded from the truth, and will get a nasty shock when they try to pass through the wall.

The truth isn't good. The truth isn't bad. The truth is just there.

God is the truth. (remember "I am the way, the truth and the life?")

The truth is true. The truth is not comfortable. The truth is not tolerant. A lot of people bend the truth to suit their purposes, but that makes it not true anymore.


If you are a Christian, you believe Christianity is true. And the truth is rigid. You don't have to like it. The truth isn't there to make you happy.

And what happens when different "truths" collide? One of them has to not be true anymore. Someone has to be wrong. That's the way it works.

I have to laugh when people say that they believe all religions are true. It doesn't work that way, because they are all exclusive of each other. All religions can't be true. Some religions say there is only one  God. Some say there are many. Some say there is no purpose in life. Others say, "there is a purpose, it's this". Let me repeat this. THEY CAN'T ALL BE TRUE.

"But Amaranthine. Excuse me? What about that illustration where there's two different people looking, at different sides, from a ball that's been painted two colors, and one says the ball is blue, and the other is red, and it's all just a matter of perspective? What if all those religions are just different ways of looking at the same thing?"


The truth is not about what something looks like or feels like or sounds like.  Things may look, sound, and feel like whatever, but it's what they really are that's true.
Truth is about the way things are. God, Christianity, life, are definite.


And yes, truth automatically means that some people have to be wrong. When something's right, something else is automatically wrong. When something's true, something else is automatically false. And if everything's true, nothing is.

What's religion? Is it just an accessory to help you on your way?

If you are a Christian, you believe that Christianity, and the Bible, the WHOLE Bible,  is the truth about how the world was and what life is. And there's just one truth, because they don't all make sense together. Christianity is not a Lego set where you can pick the parts you like and forget about the rest, or make your own super-deluxe-customized religion.

You need to understand this before you move on with your life. If you can't, well back to ultra-confusion for you. If believing this makes you angry or upset or uncomfortable, congratulations, you've found out why people choose not to believe it.

If you're still not sure, you need to be sure. Christianity is your foundation. It is what you build your whole life on. When you don't have what you believe, you don't have much of anything. And that's why so many so called Christians are lost.

Maybe you have a lot of questions. That's good. Please, please ask those questions. Read your Bible. Read Christian books. You owe it to yourself to find out what you signed up for the day you said "I am a Christian." And if you need to ask someone a question, please ask me anything about Christianity and let me help you.

Christianity is not about happiness! It's not about comfort! Christianity is about becoming who you were meant to be, finding your purpose, growing mature spiritually and emotionally, surrendering control of your life and your future, and becoming close to God.

 And in order to do that, you need to really, really know.

Am I a Christian? Do I believe that Jesus was God's son sent to die on the cross? Do I believe that God created me? Do I believe that the Bible was written under the supernatural guidance of God and is without error? Do I believe that man is inherently sinful but can only redeemed by faith through Christ? Do I believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Do I strive to be like Christ? Do I believe that God has a plan and wants a personal relationship with me?

I don't know all the answers. But I'm not going to content myself with just what other people have said, or what I've read in some book, or even what I "feel" in my heart, because remember that "the heart is deceitful above all things, Jeremiah 17:9".  So I beg you as my equal to ask yourself these questions about what you believe.

And it's not like a disagreement over Harry Potter or which is the best Poptart flavor, this is eternal life and death we're talking here.

I want you to be able to say, "I believe this, without a shadow of a doubt, even when it comes to controversial subjects." Once you have a firm foundation, then, and only then, will you prepared to glimpse the glory and the power that God has to offer.

And that's the truth.







PS. I intended to do the other problems(passiveness/timidity pertaining to evangelism) as part of this post, but I discovered I had way too much to write, so I"m just going to continue this tomorrow.