Paralyzed

I have had several conversations this week that have kept me up late thinking...how in the world can we reach this generation. A generation confused...lost. A generation dealing with temptations of designer drugs (in addition to the "normal drugs"), perversions of sexuality, dependence on acceptance, loneliness of broken families, and the ever present reality of materialism. Even in "healthy" homes students face these realities...they see friends blinded by the "fun" of it all...

The truth is... students are paralyzed. Maybe they seem to function fine...but they just cant seem to move towards who God made them to be. Many students are paralyzed because their identity is in something else besides Christ. Maybe their identify is in someone else- or just pursuing a relationship with someone else. When we find our identity in something other than Christ...then we will not be who God made us to be. So what do we do?

I think this week's message at church (connect) about the paralytic lowered down through a hole in the roof, is the summary of how we help people find their way back to God. We all have things in our life that will keep us on our mat- things that paralyze us. Sin seperates us from God...It is not these things that keep us from God...it is our unwillingness to seek out relationships with other Christ followers that keep us on our mats. Even if we surround ourselves with Christ followers- are they aware of our paralysis?

When it comes to our students...many of them will not want to share their downfalls, sins, struggles, pains....unless they believe that we are not there to judge, to fix, to direct, to discipline, but we are there to bring them to Christ. That we will do anything to get them in front of Christ- where their true identity is found. We will carry them up steps...and dig through roofs...we will do whatever it takes to help them see Christ. That needs to be our motivation...our passion.

When we see students paralyzed- we can not look at them and say- "their sin is keeping them from Christ". We need to say..."what can I do to help them see Christ"...to get them to the only one who can remove the paralysis. It happens in community- its not up to just one person. Develop your small group, the leaders around you to look for ways to get their peers directly in front of Christ. If this is our focus- we will see students getting up of their mats and walking...running for Christ.