Jesus in the Light of the Millennials

Good morning/afternoon my fellow millennials. How’s your day so far. How’s your
iPod? Smartphones? Laptops? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Netflix? How’s life my brother
and sister? (ad lib of anything that might come into the mind..) miss may I take a selfie with
you. Come let’s take a groupfie. (ad lib…)

My fellow millennials may I ask: “How is Jesus in your life?” Let’s take a look at
ourselves and take a look on what Jesus has to say:

Underneath your make-up and cologne, behind your bluff and boast to make others think
you have it all together, you are all a mess. Then you said, “It is all over! I am doomed, for I am
a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the
King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Is. 6:5

In the depths of your hearts, you are all crying out for true hope – for a Savior who can
meet you in your messiness – “God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope…” 1Tim. 1:1

We the millennials today are no different. In the depths of our hearts, young people are
crying out for hope in the midst of messiness – we are seeking our Jesus. For, “The Lord has
planted eternity in the human heart.” Ecc. 3:11

Without Jesus, we attempt to cover our own messiness. Some of us try and dull the pain
of our messiness with drugs, alcohol, sex, or Netflix. Others of us try and forget our messiness
with the success of our careers, status, money, or even ministry. “And me? I am a mess. I am
nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you have got what it takes—
but God, do not put it off.” Ps. 40:17

No matter how we try to disguise it, only one person can bring hope to our messiness.
Jesus calls, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mt. 11:28

We the millennials today have to discover Jesus in the midst of our messiness – our
Jesus. Jesus has not changed, but years of perception and perspective within the confines and
traditions of another generation’s church has layered pieces of culture over Jesus. “They should
seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being…” Acts 17:27-28

We the millennials are not rejecting Jesus, we are rejecting a coloration, a cultural
adaptation, of Jesus that does not fit us q. Older generations have not seen Jesus
incorrectly; they have just seen Him through a lens of their culture. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the
way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Jn. 14:5-6
 Jesus is the answer. My fellow millennials, we must see through the messiness of culture,
community, church, and family, to the Person who will never ignore them – Jesus. “For Jesus
Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is
my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Hb. 13:5-6

We the millennials are searching for a Jesus that is relevant to our messiness. We do not
want a simple answer in a world that is clearly messy – reason is not enough – we want
relationship. “For thus says the Lord: Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I
will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your
heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord.” Jer. 29:12-14

Jesus responds to all who seek Him. He is reaching down to every millennial who seek
Him, who have hearts for Him, and He is drawing us into the intimacy of His heart, where He
can touch our messiness. “Thus says the Lord… ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show
you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’” Jer. 33:3

As the Lord is leading millennials into His heart, we are discovering a devotional
relationship that dwarfs our messiness. “For you, Lord, will not leave my soul among the dead or
allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of
your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Ps. 16:10-11

God’s ultimate desire is to form the messiness of millennials into pinpoints of wondrous
light that will draw all peoples and generations to Jesus. “But the Lord will be to you an
everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your
moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning
shall be ended.” Is. 60:19-20

As Jesus creates pinpoints of light out of messiness in our millennial generation, we are
already starting to see Him transform the world through the millennials, one heart at a time.

--Bryan N. Bautista