“I think it’s best for kids to spend their time away from church after high school. Let them take some time, experiment with other faiths and ideas, and then they can find their own church once they’re married and have children of their own.”
These words were spoken by a lady at my Church. Quite disheartening sentiments, given the way the Church is currently hemorrhaging young people.
For many people, faith is something like an old family photograph album. Not very useful by itself, so just tuck it away in the back of a dusty closet or an attic – keep it safe so that it can be passed on to your kids one day.
Recently an investment group donated a large statue to Goodwill. But only after did they give it away did Goodwill notify them that they had given away a statue valued at half a million dollars. They graciously returned it.
It’s a terrible thing to find value in something only after it’s gone. Many in the younger generation are too willing to throw away the faith they grew up with – some have suggested that as many as two thirds of youth group students graduate high school and never return to church.
After Jesus died His followers scattered. What to do now that their leader was gone? And on the road to Emmaus, two travelers meet a stranger with a surprising message: it matters.
It matters.
The stories they had grown up with, the words of Moses, the prophets of the Hebrew scriptures – all of these matter, and all of these point to the work of the Savior, a truth that sets hearts aflame with the knowledge of Salvation.
And you? It matters. The sermons you heard. The stories you read. The songs you sung. It matters, so long as these things point to Jesus.
Don’t throw away your faith. Don’t hide it in a closet. Don’t abandon it. It may just be more valuable than you think…