Young Christians and Christ's Commands

I love working with Christian young adults.  Even though I’m a Gen X’er, I identify a lot with the Millennials (born roughly between 1985 and 2004) and their worldview.  Of course, I’m generalizing here.  You have to generalize when talking about an entire generation.  What I’m about to say certainly doesn't apply to all our young adults, but it does apply to many of them. 

Christian Millennials are incredible in acting out their faith.  Need someone to do some tangible mission work?  Ask a Millennial.  They take to heart Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors.  They are spiritually minded (although that’s not the same as being filled with the Spirit).  They seek to redeem the world in practical ways.  Contrary to popular belief, they will involve themselves in church (if they don’t sense phoniness there—and their phoniness detectors are highly tuned!).  Many times, they even seek some deeper truths in Scripture that many in the older generations just gloss over.

However, like any generation, they have quirks that keep them from reaching their full potential.  I’ll concentrate here on what I consider the biggest stumbling block of many Millennials who consider themselves Christian: application of the full Word in their lives.

They have an understanding of some basic Scripture, but simply aren't very familiar with most of it.  They view God’s love as big enough to ignore their sins—even sins they persist in.  It’s almost a Chinese-buffet type of Christianity, where they pick and choose what to take to heart.

Where did they get this selective Christianity?  I think they got it from us, the older generations.  For example, we tend to consider some sins abhorrent but turn a blind eye to others.  We let our love for neighbors (a good thing) stop us from privately pointing out to them actions that displease God.  The Millennials amplified what older generations were already doing, and sometimes inverted it (turning a sin into a celebration).  And yet, they still think of themselves as journeying through life with Christ.

I can't cast too big of a stone.  I mean, who really lives like Christ wants us to?  Not me, for sure.  But Christ repeatedly pointed out that we have to consider the full cost of following Him (Luke 14:27-33), which includes obeying all He commands us (John 14:15, Matt 28:20).  We can't just pick and choose.  We have to take on the whole enchilada!