Teenager, Don’t be Afraid to Think Hard

1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”.

Thinking takes a lot of work. In fact, sometimes it’s so hard to think about a certain issue, I try to get out of it. In some way or another, though, I have to tackle the issue and find out where I stand. Don’t you love it when something is crystal clear, black-and-white? You don’t have anything to wrestle with, and you have nothing to sweat over. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, few things fall into this category. From politics to predestination, we all have to find out “what I believe and why I believe it“. This is no easy task. As children, we take everything our parents say as fact, believing them to be the wisest people on earth. When we enter our teenage years, though, we suddenly begin to question what our parents have always told us. This isn’t wrong; in fact, it’s a good thing. This is a time to take advantage of, and we have a choice. Will we follow the crowd blindly, hoping that our friends are right, or will we think hard and search for the truth? Relying on your parents’ faith won’t save you, and it will be a terribly weak foundation. When you are faced with hard times or hard questions, it will be all too easy to slip away from your faith. The teen years are the perfect time to begin wrestling with the difficult questions that surround us. Instead of being afraid of a possible weak-spot in Christian theology, we should search out until we are confident in what we believe. Know the Bible, and understand what makes Christianity so different from all other religions. I find that I sometimes see a “possible” weak-spot in Christianity, but I am too afraid to dig deeper. Usually, that thought will sit in my mind and weaken my faith. The question could have been nothing but -a headline… -to an article… -that some person who never read the Bible wrote. But it still can affect me! Don’t let your fears and doubts stay in the dark and weaken your faith. Ask your questions, and think deeply about hard topics. This is not to say that your faith and beliefs should be based solely on historical proof and the like, but that many questions and doubts do have a logical answer! Find a trusted individual who truly knows the Lord and studies His Word, and ask your questions. Before you get confused, though, I want you to remember that faith will always be necessary. Whether you believe in the Bible or the Theory of Evolution, there will always be a leap of faith. Some things are above us and things we cannot understand. If we try to bring them from God’s level to ours, things will get confusing and messy really fast. As I have thought about my convictions and my faith in Jesus Christ, I have had a burning question in my mind to ask some mature Christians. “Why are you a Christian?” If you were asked this question, what would you say? Check out this video:

P.S. If you enjoyed that video, you should check out the Living Waters YouTube Channel. I have found it extremely encouraging!

Teenager, Don’t be Afraid to Think Hard

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