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Northeast Bible Church
19185 FM 2252
Garden Ridge, TX 78266
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April 2010 |
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"Jesus did not come simply to make bad people good. Jesus came to bring dead people to life." That quote from Christian activist Shane Claiborne sums up the reason Christians celebrate Easter. Because Jesus came back to life on Easter morning, he offers his followers new life as well.
The good news of Easter is that although we're still sinners, Jesus forgives our sins when we confess them. We no longer have to be burdened with our wrongs and the guilt that accompanies them. But that can be tough to remember on a day-to-day basis-for adults as well as teenagers.
In Group Magazine's recent survey of more than 26,000 Christian teenagers, half of them agreed with this statement: "I've done things no one really knows about that impact my ability to feel loved by God." The first hurdle is finding someone to confess these burdens to. If your teenagers aren't comfortable talking to you about their sins, they may be able to open up to a youth leader or pastor who can assure them of God's mercy and grace.
The next hurdle is letting go of the remaining guilt. As longtime youth leader Jeanne Mayo said, "We must teach kids not only to repent from sin but to deal with Satan's harassing mind games long after God has wiped the slate clean." Past mistakes don't have to mean lifelong regret. That's a message you can share with your kids long after the Easter fanfare has quieted for another year.
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Forgiveness is a gift from God, but then he puts the ball in our court. We, in turn, must forgive others, too. Youth minister Andy Dish expounds on this important topic at SimplyYouthMinistry.com.
Colossians 3:13 spells it out very clearly: "Forgive as your Father in heaven forgave you." On a daily basis, God must get sick of me. But he still forgives me. If God the Father can forgive me for all my stupidity, attitudes, thoughts, and words, then I can forgive others.
1. Forgiveness is a choice. Sure, we don't have to. It's all up to us. We can hear what Paul tells us in Colossians and just toss it away. We all have a choice-and others are watching our choices.
2. Forgiveness is necessary for healing. When you forgive, you're trading the poison inside of you for God's love. Until that happens, you'll walk around with poison inside, dying little by little.
3. Forgiveness is a command. ...but I thought you said it was a choice? It is. But God calls us to a higher calling. He calls us his children and representatives, so we must follow and obey. Bottom line: God says we must forgive because he loves us and wants us to share his love with others.
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Forgiveness sounds like a wonderful concept. But putting it into practice-and accepting it-can be challenging for people of all ages. Check out these interesting stats about forgiveness:
• In the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, researcher Christian Smith asked teenagers "How much has religion helped to relieve your feelings of guilt by providing you (with) forgiveness?" Kids' responses were:
o A lot-27%
o Some-25%
o A little-15%
o None-18%
• In a Gallup Poll, 94% of respondents said they thought forgiveness was essential. But 85% said they'd need outside help to forgive someone. Only 48% of people said they usually tried to forgive others.
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At Easter, we celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ came back from the dead after paying the ultimate price for our sins. We celebrate the fact that salvation is available through trusting in the risen Savior of the world. But sometimes we forget: There was more than one sacrifice that was made on the hill called The Skull where Jesus hung on the cross and poured out his life.
