Passed out a 24 question survey today to a group of teenagers in my church. Some were new kids and others have Christian families and have come to church all their life. The questions were things like who is Jesus and why is he important to us, name the beatitudes, name the Ten Commandments, what is truth, what does it mean to be a Christian, what is justification, what is sanctification, what is grace, what is mercy, and so on. Also asked them if they truly knew who they were as a person. They were not to put their names on the questionnaire so they could answer honestly. Here is the majority answers.
Jesus is important because he helps us
Heaven is a place where good people go when they die
Truth is not lying
Being a Christian means being a good person and believing in God
Most could only name 1 -3 of the commandments
No one could name the beatitudes (Christian Character Traits)
Most had no answer to the trinity, mercy, grace, sanctification, and so on.
Here is the part that left me speechless! One teen answered EVERY question with a very biblical answer. but before you say "that's great" let me tell you the rest of the story. After answering all the questions correctly, this teen wrote something on the back of the paper. Here is what was said,
WHAT REALLY MATTERS.
God, you ask me who He is, the truth, I don't know Him. You ask me why He sent his son, I've heard stories, but do I really know? You ask me who I am, well, I don't know. I'm lost! But I call myself a Christian, and my parents and church wonder why I stray.
End.
Lord, forgive us. Forgive us as parents and as a body that we have obviously not shown our children who you are, and who they are in you. Lord, help us to stop just teaching Christian behavior so we can say are kids are Christians and help us to start teach them the true Gospel, the full Gospel. Help us to instill in our children Christian Character such as in the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. And Lord, help us to know we cannot lead them into salvation without You calling them, and by Your grace and mercy. Father, help us as a body to repent of this terrible sin we have committed in being complacent concerning our children and in so many cases being deceived. Thank you Lord. Amen.
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