1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are
being saved.
Our culture is shifting and fewer people understand what it
means to be a Christian than ever before. To illustrate how far our culture has
shifted, a friend of mine related what happened to him recently in
a jewelry store. He had gone into the store to buy a cross necklace for
his daughter. She wanted to wear it as a way to display her faith and he wanted
to support her in that effort. Instead of just buying her a cheap
necklace, he thought he would go a nicer store and buy one that would be
special to his daughter. As he looked through the various options he did not
find quite what he was looking for. He asked the young man who was the store
clerk if they had any other cross necklaces to choose from. The young man said,
"Yeah, we have some in this other case over here, but I do not know if you
would want them or not, they have some dude on them." When my friend
looked at the other case, the dude on the cross was Jesus and the crosses were
actually crucifixes. Though my friend was not interested in buying a crucifix,
he was stunned that the young man had no idea who the dude on the cross was.
Though our society has always had people who do not follow
Christ, few would have failed to recognize a crucifix as being Christ on the
cross. But this young man had no idea that the person on the cross
was Christ. He did not realize the unparalleled sacrifice Jesus had made on his
behalf. He was missing a critical piece of information that could change his
life forever.
Though we can pretend that young man was just ignorant of
the truth, the reality is that he represents a growing number of young adults
who do not know who the dude on the cross is. The good news is that young
people are interested in finding out. They are very open to sitting down with a
friend or relative and having a genuine conversation about who
Jesus is and what part He might play in their lives. Though they may not quite be ready to commit their lives to following Christ, they are increasingly curious about who He is. Are we ready to tell them who the dude on the cross is?
Lord, help us share the story of the cross with those around
us, especially with the next generation. Amen.
This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr.
Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational
leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a
happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a
cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully
through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of
his books at:
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