Get Outta My Face - Chapter 3

I like reading slowly through several books. It helps me to share thoughts weekly with others as I go through them and flesh out all that is being said in each. I'm going through a couple now and meet with corresponding groups to discuss them. The third chapter of "Get Outta My Face" is about the "wise wants" that all people, especially teens, have because of God's common grace. His main point was that teens act based on their felt needs, but many times their is an underlying "wise want" underneath, and at time so deep that it takes time and digging to get to them.

Teens will sin, it is important for us to think about how we deal with this sin whether you are their parent, friend, teacher, or pastor. The author says "For parents, the best question to ask is not 'Do we deal with the sin or do we not?' The question is, 'When and how is the sin to be dealt with in the way that will be most effective?" It is important to remember that we are all works in progress. To the unconverted teen their stage is lost, and unaware of the eternal aspect of their sin. To the born again teen their stage is a battle with their flesh. God IS working in our lives through the sanctification by His Holy Spirit. We need to trust in that and remember that sin needs to be dealt with always. ALWAYS. How we deal with it and when is where we have some freedom, because our influence on teens like ministry in general is a marathon. We can't forget that we have time to deal with teens. We did not get "right" all at once, to say that we did is to say that we are essentially God Himself. We (teens included) will never be "right" until we are glorified by God.

Remember that Christ Justifies us, the Holy Spirit is Sanctifying us, and one day God will glorify us. Trust in that when you are dealing with teens. Trust in the fact that you can't do it, and need His guidance and help. Look for the right times to deal with the right issues and not every issue at once.

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