The Exodus of the Young
It’s like a slow train wreck you can’t stop watching. For 18 years a young person attends your local congregation and is present every Sunday. But then they leave home, take the high dive into the world, and slowly start to live a life that does not reflect Christ. And sadly, they appear to love this new life of worldliness. Their clothes get more immodest. Their social media posts get more immoral. Their language becomes less about Him and more about themselves. And little by little you watch as this once faithful person begins to embrace sin.
Social events? Teen only classes? Youth Days? What about serious Bible study?
Why? Why are we not better grounding our young people to run away from worldliness and run toward holiness? Why do we sit idly by and assume this is “just a phase” everyone must go through? Why do we no longer blush? Why is it okay for a 20-year-old to dishonor the bride of Christ publicly through social media and no one does anything? Why do we act like souls are not at stake?
I fear that it is because, in too many cases, their hearts were never turned toward God in the first place. Sure they wanted to get baptized and sure they wanted to avoid the fires of hell. But they never put on the new man. They never agreed to be a servant/slave to Christ.
Yes, they wanted salvation and forgiveness, but they did not want Him as a Lord over their life. They simply wanted a comfortable Christianity that still allowed them to live as they wanted to live. It’s time parents, church leaders, and Christians take a serious look at the hearts of their young people and ask: “Who is on the throne of your heart?” Is it a video game? Is it themselves? Is it a boyfriend/girlfriend? Is it theater, football, or band? Is it high grades and honor roll? Is it being popular or having the right phone? Or is it Jesus Christ? How many more will we watch fall away before we realize that something needs to be done?