In the movie "To Save a Life", there is a powerful moment when the main character, Jake Taylor attends a youth group meeting at the invitation of the youth pastor. Jake is upset by the behavior of the kids in the youth group who are acting just like the people he goes to school with - making inappropriate jokes, making fun of the lesson, and even passing around drugs. In the middle of the group Jake stands up and asks a very important question - "What's the point of all this if you aren't going to let this change you?"
That is a great question for all of us who claim to be Christians. What is the point of all of the things we say about our faith, all of the time we spend in church, or whatever relationship we have with God if we are not going to allow it change us?
Thinking about that questions makes me think about Judas. When we hear his name most of us think about the fact that he betrayed Jesus and later killed himself out of guilt and shame. It's important to remember though that Judas didn't just turn on Jesus at the end, he was a man who was consumed with greed and a love a money, and it was that love of money that drove him to take a bribe from the religious leaders to literally sell out Jesus. It was also his love of money that led him to steal from the disciples. (See John 12:6)
What I can't understand about Judas is not just about how he could betray Jesus, but how did he spend 3 years with the Son of God and apparently not change? How did he hear the teachings and see the miracles and still end up as the same man who would cheat, steal, and betray? In other words, how and why did he not let all of that change him?
Something that worries me right now is that I see a lot of people who would call themselves Christians, people who spend more than just Sunday morning in church, but do not seem to be changed by the time they spend with Jesus. Their actions, choices and lifestyles are not that different from the lives of their non-Christian friends. These people are part of what I call the Judas Generation - an entire generation of Christians who are not growing in their faith and not becoming more like Christ as the Bible compels us to do.
How can this happen? I think the key to answering that is found in Jake's question - "What's the point of all this if you are not going to let this change you?" The key is that we have to let it change us. I would think that just being around Jesus would change you, but how much it changes us is up to us.
Are you a Christian? If so, are you letting the time you spend with God change you? Or are you a part of the Judas generation? How different does your life look when compared to your non-Christian friends (not counting the fact that you go to church most Sunday mornings while they sleep in)?
When we resist the influence of Jesus and do not change, we are denying the power of God to change lives. We are telling the world around us that Christ does not offer us a better life because ours has not changed.
For your own sake and the sake of those around you who do not yet know Jesus, let me encourage you to let God change you - take the lessons you hear in church and the things you read in the Bible challenge you to change and become more like Jesus. Demonstrate his power through the change in your own life rather than denying it by the lack of change. Don't be one more member of the Judas Generation!
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