“All teenagers cuss. It’s just what they do!”
“That’s not true! Micah, Ezra, and Caleb don’t cuss!”
One of the students at the school where I teach told me about the above conversation above regarding our boys a few weeks ago. I teach at a small Christian school that provides home, school, and therapy to kids at-risk. It’s the perfect opportunity for our boys to be a light and witness to their classmates. But it isn’t just “not cussing” that sets them apart.
When my husband, Tom, was a teenager, he went to Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma where a classmate in his English class leaned over and asked, “Hey Tom, want to go to youth group with me?” Tom wasn’t opposed to Christianity; he just didn’t know much about it. So he started attending youth group, and as a result eventually placed his faith in Jesus Christ.
This past weekend, our son, Caleb, invited his classmate, “C” to a youth group activity. During the night game activity, “C” opened up to my son about his desire to learn more about the Christian faith. They spent about an hour talking about what it means to follow Christ.
I was reading the beginning of the book of Mark yesterday where John the Baptist is introduced. He wore strange clothing, ate strange foods and preached in the wilderness drawing many people out to hear his preaching. John’s role was to proclaim the repentance of sin and point people towards someone who was coming after him that was greater. John preached with humility. “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.” The Lord used John the Baptist to prepare the people for a coming relationship with Jesus Christ.
Okay, so maybe we don’t want our kids to wear strange clothing, eat strange foods, and live in the wilderness. But we do want them to help point others to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Believers are meant to be salt and light in a darkened world. Let’s be in places that need salt and light. Salt does no good in a container. Just as light does not good hidden away in a closet. Now is the time to let our lights shine and make a difference in our culture, one precious life at a time. May the Lord use us and our children as vessels to proclaim truth and prepare people for a relationship with Christ. Let us never point to ourselves but always to Jesus!
