Hope in Christ: Why Young People Need Him and How We Can Help

What Does Christian Hope Offer Young People?

When we as Christians say we have hope, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do we think we have hope to solve our problems? Young people today often struggle with life. They seem lonely and disconnected from others. Many find it difficult to see meaning in their lives. Many live with a constant dread of the future due to the culture of fear we seem to be living in. What answers does having hope in Christ offer them?

If we are trying to "sell Jesus" to them as an answer to their problems, we have missed the point of salvation. Salvation gives us a hope because it rests on the person of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, the grace of forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal life with Him.

God never says we will become Christians and all of our problems will go away (John 16:33). God's desire is for us to be in relationship with Him. Salvation provides that. Part of having a relationship with anyone, human or God Himself, is getting to know them.

Knowing God Changes How We Live

When we get to know God, we understand Him better and we have a desire to be like Him. In many ways we make our Christian life so much more difficult than it needs to be. God is love. This is how He describes Himself. If we love Him we will show love to others because He first loved us (1 John 4:19–21). Can it be so simple? Yes. When we love others so many of the things that people are unhappy about melt away.

Loving people connects us to others. It allows us to see them as God sees them. We are not judging them, but we are seeing their need and the first thing we start to ask is, "How can I meet the needs of people that I love." Their needs are put before our own. We stop asking, "Why isn't life fair to me?" and begin asking, "How can I make life fairer for others?"

Meaning and Purpose in Loving God and Others

Loving God and others brings a deep meaning to life. First it changes us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray more. We don't pray just for our needs but we pray to praise and thank God for who He is and we pray for the needs of others. We don't treat God like a lucky rabbit's foot but like the Lord of lords and King of kings that He is.

We approach Him with humility and listen to Him. We know His Word gives life and that doing His will brings joy. In our humility we seek Him daily. We know He has a plan for us and it is simple. At the heart of it is to do good for others. If we stay locked up in our rooms or we never associate with others, that becomes much harder. Christians weren't meant to be isolated from others.

Overcoming Fear and Loneliness Through Faith and Community

Studying His word, as best we can, helps us learn more about Him. We can join with others to discuss and to grow in our knowledge of the goodness and faithfulness of God (Hebrews 10:24–25). And by learning about His faithfulness, our fears of the future can be lessened. We are human and the unknown can be scary sometimes, but the faithfulness of our Father, should be a constant comfort.

Finding Hope When Life Is Difficult

The more we are around other Christians, the more encouraged we become. We see people face life with courage and hopefulness. We become happier people by letting God work in our lives as He will. There is hope for the depressed. Even when some of our greatest desires don't work out, we learn to trust God.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” John 16:33

When sorrow strikes we look to Jesus, the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3). He knows and cares deeply about us. He longs for us to join Him someday in our Heavenly home.

Becoming More Like Jesus

God's desire is to see His attributes displayed to others through our life. Our God is loving, merciful, faithful, just, holy, and good. The fruit of loving God is seen in how these same characteristics grow in our lives. As a little child most of us wanted to be like our parents. As God's child, in a much greater way, our desire should be to become more like Jesus every day (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Reading the Bible to Know God

A young man said this once about the Bible and I believe it to be so true,

"This book is a revelation of who God is. Don't read this book in order to get principles for your life. Read this book to know God. To see who God is, to see your position before God, to see His mercy and grace, and to allow His Holy Spirit to transform you by having an encounter with God through His Word."

Imagine what changes when we read it this way and realize that being a Christian isn't about you or me, but about relationship with our Creator and how we share that with others.

Living Out the Hope Jesus Gives Us

In my own life, when I started taking my relationship with God seriously and being more obedient, I volunteered with a child abuse agency to work with a family. My first meeting was pretty terrifying for me but God gave me the courage to share love with them and to this day they are a part of my life. This was one way I learned to live out the hope that Jesus gave me. Having received this hope, we are sent to share it.

We have been commissioned by our Savior to tell the world about Him. When someone is commissioned they have been given an official task. We are the "someone." Sharing the hope of Christ is a duty; one we should be happy to perform. All four Gospels and Acts tell us that this is our mission. We live it by showing Christ through our actions, our love, and yes, our words.

If we have such a great gift as salvation, why would we ever want to keep it to ourselves? God's grace is available to all who call upon His name. But they need to know who He is before people can do that. In the U.S. it is easy to make the mistake of believing almost everyone is a Christian.

In the 1950s over 90% of people identified as Christian, but today it is around 62% and few of those are regular church goers. Where are our children? Many have left the faith. So many young people and others we come in contact with do not know Jesus as their Savior. Do they see the change in us that loving God should bring? Do they understand that just being American doesn't make you a Christian?

Believing in God vs. Being a Christian

Part of the confusion is that many of us, and many young people, have confused believing that God exists with being a Christian. Maybe you grew up in church, or you simply believe there is something out there bigger than yourself. James tells us that even the demons believe that God exists, and they shudder (James 2:19). Knowing a fact about God is not the same as knowing God. That matters, but He wants more for you. He wants you to know Him in Spirit and truth.

Being a Christian means trusting Jesus enough to step out in faith: to receive Him, repent of our sin, and let Him change our lives. “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). That is not a vague belief. It is a relationship, and it shows in how we love.

Why Young People Need Hope in Christ

This is why our goal is for young people to see their need for God. Sin separates us from our Father. Our good will never be good enough compared to the holiness of God. Thankfully, we have been offered the grace of God freely through Jesus (Ephesians 2:8–10). Our young people know in their heart of hearts that there is more to life than what they can see: Someone that connects them to others, gives them meaning, and comforts their fears.

The quiet hopelessness that many are experiencing has an answer. You and I have that answer. Let's share it with the help of the Holy Spirit, so that Christianity becomes more than a formula to solve our problems and more of a sacrificial life of love for others. We need this and our young people do too.

"...Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27