Dear Family and Friends,

We begin with a recent conversation with my grandson:

“Luke, did you know that in sixty years you are going to look like me?”

“Papa, what will you look like in sixty years?… Will you be extinct?”

(Luke is into dinosaurs.)

Have you ever noticed that the closer we age towards extinction, high school graduates seem to get younger and younger? Would you agree that the graduating seniors in the newspaper nowadays look like children?

Yet when we were that very same age, did we not think we were ready to conquer the world? We were confident, after all we were big people now, aka adults.

The best thing was our independence, control over our own lives; what our parents told us became suggestions, not mandates. We could now do what we want, go where we want, buy what we want, or simply not do anything at all! 

For some of us, turning eighteen took what seemed like an eternity. For the second half our entire lives, from about age ten on, many of us had ongoing battles with our parents over one central theme – we wanted our way and our parents wanted theirs. The back and forth with our parents became almost a daily battle over almost everything imaginable. We just could not understand why they said NO – all the time!

That was until we became parents ourselves, and our once sweet darlings somehow transformed into beings from another galaxy. This was when the light bulbs above our heads went on and we realized our parents were actually smarter than we thought. We grew up thinking they just wanted to torment us, deny us of having fun. We didn’t trust that they had our best interest in mind, and that the no’s were meant to keep us from hurting ourselves. 

If you’re feeling guilty, don’t. The human condition is not new. Read this sampling of verses from Proverbs about those in between years. 

  • “A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness…” Proverbs 22:15
  • “The eye that mocks a father and despises a mother’s instructions…” Proverbs 30:17

For many, the transition from childhood to adulthood, the adolescent years, the rebellious years of life, were all about making our own choices and controlling our days to destiny. Fortunately for all of us, the years of adolescence are somewhat finite in number. 

I titled this devotional The Decades of Adolescence because this is the season of our walk with Jesus that has no finite number of years.

As my title suggests, some of us have found ourselves in this season for many many years. Think for a minute about all that Jesus asked of us. If you need a partial reminder, just read Matthew 5-7. 

He asked a lot, didn’t He? Now ask yourself, are you doing everything that He said? 

We all fall short, don’t we? We hear His wishes, but do not listen. He tries to lead, but we run the other way. He tells us how to thrive in this world. But do we submit to His ways? At times, but not always.

It’s too hard, or we think we know better how to survive in this world. We pick and choose what we want to obey. Then for the rest, we have excuses as endless as the stars in the sky.

Are you feeling convicted yet? Yes, that was a lot to take in. But let me say this again: if you are feeling guilty, don’t! 

Paul gives us a reason why we act like adolescents around God. “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17 

When we invited Jesus into our hearts and received the Holy Spirit, our soul became a battleground between God and the enemy. They both want our souls.

The difference is the enemy doesn’t give us a choice; he comes to have his way, his motives are selfish. Meanwhile our God gives us freedom to choose, all motivated by a deep love for us. 

Over the next few weeks, we will talk more about this adolescent period and the back and forth struggles we face when following our Lord. But for now, I’ll leave you with a few words of encouragement about this adolescent stage based on this passage from Romans 7:18-20.

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

A few verses later Paul says this. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25

Paul’s struggles brought him to his knees before the Lord. This once proud man knew that the only way to true joy and peace was through the Lord.

Like it did for Paul, our struggles will help us break the pride in our hearts. As our struggles continue, we will be humbled over and over again, a process that will eventually break the will of the enemy.

Our struggles will force us to cry out to God for help as we recognize we can’t do this alone. Our struggles will help keep us alert, serving as constant reminders of the darkness in and around us. 

Dwell on this next thought. Paul’s desire to do good, his recognition of the battle within, confirmed the presence of Christ in his life. Why else would he desire to do good? Now, let me ask, do you share in that same desire – to do good? If so, you too are in Christ my friend. 

Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome twenty five years or so after his conversion on the road to Damascus. The great Apostle Paul was still fighting the good fight two and a half decades later. Dwell for a moment on your own experience. Are you like me, a member of the Decades club? If you are, we are in good company.

That said, don’t be bashful about sharing your struggles with close friends. There is no reason for shame. We are in this together. Let’s raise each other’s spirits when needed and celebrate each other’s victories as well.

I pray that you now feel better about yourself. Paul shows us that falling short of a perfect “10” does not mean we are unworthy.

He shows us that our struggles are actually good, that they are proof of Christ working in us! Our struggles strengthen us and mold us closer to being like Jesus. Our struggles show God we love Him enough to care.

In love always,