Friday, April 12, 2013

Does Jesus Understand Modern Teenagers?


Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Was Jesus at one time a teenager? Does He really understand modern teenagers? Or is He from a far-past generation and out of touch?
In reality, Jesus is tomorrow's up-to-date teenager, the teenager who has common sense, who is not afraid of his or her peers, who has true joy deep in His heart, who is free from this terrible prison that most teenagers are locked into--the awful fear of being alone, standing alone, being "different." Jesus was not afraid of anyone--and you don't need to be afraid of anyone, either.
You see, Jesus is not revealed merely in one little tiny segment of 18 years between His age of 12 ands His later age of 30. The question is: why doesn't the Bible tell us more about Jesus during those 18 years, especially his teenage years. The answer is that Jesus has revealed Himself all through history, and we read of Him revealing Himself throughout the Bible--in teenagers.
First, there is Abel, not afraid to reason with his brother Cain about the meaning of the cross. Jesus was revealed in him. Then there is the teenager Abram, refusing to go with his dad to worship the moon-god in Ur of the Chaldees; again, there you see Jesus at work. Then there is the teenager Moses, refusing to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, unafraid to be different at the royal court. Then there is, well, who? David, of course, the teenager who killed Goliath. He could never have done that unless the Spirit of Jesus was in his heart that day. And that must be why David wrote Psalm 119, Jesus' diary as a teenager. Read it please, with that idea in mind.
I could go on--the teenager Jeremiah for example--lucky guy, can I say that?? With all the sufferings he went through?? Yes, Jeremiah had the peace of God in his heart--and there are millions of teenagers who want just that more than anything else. If you have it, by the grace of God, help somebody else.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 6, 1996.
Copyright © 2013 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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