05 Dec Questions of a Christian Teenager

Question 1. How can the Christian life be an ‘abundant life’, when there are so many restrictions?

We are not alone in this world… and our life is not about ourselves. God has plans for each and every one. The sovereign God, the maker of heaven and earth, has plans for each person as He made them in His image.

These 10 beneficial laws were given by the Creator God to show us how to live a better life as an individual and as a society.
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10. You shall not covet.

God wants us to be more holy than happy. Happiness is transient, fleeting. A deep calm and peace amidst the storms of life is what God offers. God does not say anything about girlfriends/music/cinema/smoking/recreation. He does not wish to cramp our style or play spoilsport. But He does stress on moral purity and not to abuse our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. King David says a day spent in God’s house is better than a thousand spent elsewhere. All these fleeting pleasures may give us momentary fun, but a real peace and calm in a very unstable world can be given only by the Saviour.

It’s nice to have girls as friends. But we need to examine our thoughts and attitudes constantly. “Am I behaving honourably with them? Is this girl God’s will for me? Am I willing to wait till I get a good job so I can support a wife and family? Or am I having a girlfriend just to show off/because others have one/ it feels good now but maybe I’ll dump her for a better one?”
Smoking and drinking are addictive, very harmful, wasteful habits that wreck families and destroy the mind and body. Will a loving God allow us to hurt ourselves this way?

God teaches us to work hard and earn through honest means, to do our part to make the world a better place and enjoy the fruit of our hard work.
Many people will give anything to have a clean conscience, the heart of an innocent person and a healthy body and mind. If obeying God’s word helps me have these all, is that not an abundant life? In spite of extreme physical and emotional suffering, many children of God found solace and hope in Christ, and radiated joy and peace beyond understanding to embrace others as well. This too is abundant life.

Question 2. How can I be sure that there really is a loving God up there who cares about me when He seems so silent?

Who said God is silent? God speaks. It’s only the people who choose to ignore His voice or His leading and go our own way. He primarily speaks through His word. Do we spend enough time with God reading His word? Do we do what it says?

Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We see sicknesses, accidents, wars, sufferings, so many horrors, injustice and corruption, escalating prices of essential goods, slavery, poverty and hopelessness around us. This is the price man had to pay for not listening to God and His Word. And he will continue in denial of God and engage in godless behaviour, destroying himself and others unless God Himself intervenes. In Biblical times God did miracles like parting the red sea since there was not written Word of God then. They had no way to know who God was and what He expected of them. We have the privilege to read and meditate on God’s Word to know who God is like and what He wants from us. Dramatic miracles do happen today in rural areas since people are poor and cannot read the Bible. They have never heard of a living God who answers prayer in Jesus name.
God has given us His Word to read and His people to have fellowship with. It takes time to know God just like it takes time to know another person. As we obey God, read His Word and grow in Him, we will gradually know and understand how God is leading us and shows us where we go wrong. These things can be felt and experienced by the individual child of God. As a father loves and leads his own children, Our Heavenly Father enjoys and cherishes the time we spend with Him. Words cannot do justice to how God speaks to, comforts, encourages and leads His people.
He is a living, speaking God and is present everywhere. He is always by your side and a prayer away. Try talking to Him and see how He responds. The verse says “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” You have to bite to know it.

Questions by – Sam Selvin, 2nd year BE Mtech Student, CMR IT Institute of Technology, Bangalore
Answers – Jeslyne Isaac, Adyar graduate, Chennai.

Jeslyne Isaac is an active graduate in Adyar, Chennai.