CERTAINTY NO MORE

Certainty NEVILLE BARTLEY | Youth Team Leader, SUNZ No More

Certainty is something that followers of Jesus are supposed to have. We are supposed to be certain in our forgiveness from God. We are to be certain of our place in eternity with God and certain in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ whom we follow and in whom we receive our forgiveness and our eternity with God. In a way, those things have been relatively easy for generations after the end of World War Two. However, for the first time since then our children and young people are facing a world that is unsure and a future that is uncertain. It may be easier for many of us who are older to say that the certainty of our faith hasn’t changed. However, we are not their age and looking ahead wondering what the future holds. Will they be able to freely travel again? Will they be able to own their own home? Will the planet keep warming and the sea levels rise and the physical world we know change? Will animals and plants continue to disappear from our world forever? Will another pandemic strike and could it be worse than this one? We already see high levels of anxiety and depression amongst our young people. When you add all the thoughts about their future on top of the anxiety many of them already feel, I think you can see why young people may struggle to be certain about anything in their lives. We have a generation under stress, a generation looking for answers, a generation looking for some sort of certainty. So where do they find that certainty? How do they find that certainty? What role does the church play in that and what does God really have to offer? These are big questions that the church was already having to face in some ways before COVID-19. Now they are questions the church needs to quickly address and begin to answer. I don’t want to sound too simple here, but I think we have been spending too much time

Certainty

worrying about how our music sounds, how flash we look up front and how appealing our building looks from the outside — and not taking seriously enough what is really required. I don’t think the answer is that difficult in essence, but for some of us who are older it might seem difficult in its execution. I think our answer lies within three key things: scripture, prayer and community. This generation under fire needs to know Christ and they need to know God their creator. And the only way they can truly know them is through those three things being active in their lives. Scripture holds the truth that can overcome uncertainty. Prayer holds the connection with the truthgiver who can overcome uncertainty. The community of the church holds the tangible outworking of that truth, and the love that is built on that will overcome uncertainty. It may sound simple, but this is where the sacrifice begins for those of us who are strong and certain in our faith. We need to use new ways to help the younger generation to engage with scripture and to discover its truth. We need to find new ways to help them discover and engage in prayer so that their daily lives become entwined with it. We need to create communities of love and trust and understanding. We need to get alongside them and see how they see the world. At Scripture Union NZ, part of our role is to be on that new edge, to discover the ways the church can use to help this young generation find certainty in their futures through a certainty in their faith in God. We are constantly listening, praying, searching scripture and being guided by the Spirit of God to find these new pathways. Our core business is to work with and support the Church to be the place where not just this current generation of children and youth — and the generations that follow them — can discover certainty through a faith in Christ. Your prayers for us are one of our strongest tools to continue to be that support to the Church. Can I encourage you to take any opportunities that God gives you to walk alongside this current hurting generation of young people? Be quick to listen and slow to talk. Be quick to support and slow to correct. Be quick to show a life of love and slow to dish out rules. Scripture, prayer and community are the keys for this generation to discover a certainty that nothing this world throws at them will cause them to fall. Even for many of us who are older, there are still some doubts and uncertainties that we face as we look to the future facing our children and their children. So, let’s get back to these simple things, let’s put our trust in God, in God’s word, and in God’s community — and not in house prices, investments and rules and regulations. Let the world see that the only true certainty is found through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

THIS GENERATION UNDER FIRE NEEDS TO KNOW CHRIST AND THEY NEED TO KNOW GOD THEIR CREATOR.

‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4: 4-7 (NIV)