A new report from Arizona Christian University shows that nearly 60 percent of millennials have a positive view of Jesus, but 75 percent admit they are "searching for a sense of purpose in life."
The report also finds that, while 65 percent claim to be Christians, "many do not embrace a biblical worldview on sexuality, the sanctity of life and other issues. Some 30% of millennials, including nearly 40% of adults 18-24, identify as 'LGBTQ.'" It concludes that this generation is "disengaged from spiritual teaching and practice, resulting in a paucity of knowledge, understanding, experience, and growth in this realm."
It begs the question, is "liking" Jesus enough?
Pastor and author Tim Keller says no. He recently ignited a firestorm on Twitter when he wrote these words:
"Jesus cannot simply be liked—you either must reject him utterly or crown Him King of your life."
There was a time when such a statement would not be controversial. Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. This audacious statement—and the One who made it—must be wholly rejected or accepted. As C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
When individuals do not know who Jesus claimed to be, and who He truly is, we find ourselves in a world where people can "like" Jesus while rejecting the absolute truth of His Word.
What's the answer?
Teach the real Jesus to your children. Equip them with a biblical worldview so that they will be ready to stand against the lies in our culture. Their eternal future may depend on it!