Recently, Christian young person related a story to me about the affects he felt because of an "experience." As I was given the details of the occasion, a little bit of uncertainty crept into my thoughts. I was asked to give my opinion about the situation.
I knew I could not be dismissive. When young people share their lives with you, being dismissive is utterly stupid. Their experiences are important to them; they mean something. Even if we must follow up our answer with correction or explanation, our reaction ought to be that of a sincere listener. That is one way we can teach young people to think through things.
I knew, however, that I had to caution. There was just something about the reaction of this young person that convinced me that I had to caution. It was the idea that this "experience" had been the source of his certainty for the future; he was certain about his calling now because of this experience. Some of the details of this event concerned me, but if I started getting into cessationism and whatnot (which I was tempted to do) I would have probably lost the audience through frustration. I did say, however, that whatever came of this experience, the truth and validity of it must be tested by Scripture. I urged my friend to confirm all of his experiences through Scripture. I said that Scripture is the mot reliable revelation of God. I don't know how the caution was ultimately taken. I even went so far as to say that while he may feel like God used this "experience" to confirm things in his mind, God could have done so without the momentous occasion. I don't know as if he liked that comment.
I have noticed among some of the young people of my acquaintance a desire for an "experience." It seems as if they want some kind of earth-shattering event to happen to confirm their faith. Perhaps it is because they are not patient, but it seems as if seeing the fruit of their lives as the proof of their faith is hard work. The kind of fruit they want is the experience. They want to see the earth move. As a youth leader, it concerns me. It concerns me, because I wonder what on earth are we teaching these kids if this is what they are looking for at the age of eighteen or nineteen? Even my daughter once said: "I want to feel like a Christian." This is something she is beginning to get over as she pursues more conservative worship settings.
A danger to a reliance on these "experiences" is that they can cause us to ignore sin in our lives. If we are having all kinds of "experiences" then it is easy to "feel" like we're okay before God, when in reality, we may be ignoring serious sin issues. Is this the attraction, perhaps?
I must confess to being totally mystified by the fascination with over-the-top Charismatic-type things. They kind of creep me out. Perhaps it is because I am a naturally conservative, no-frills type of person myself. Perhaps because they remind of losing control of oneself, and I'm not into that. I have enough self-control issues with my speech, never mind other areas. I am concerned, though, because what I think the young people need is a sure foundation.
If I relied solely on "mountain top" experiences, I'd be in trouble. I've had some of those, but they were not the things that sustained me two years ago when I went through a trial. In fact, some of the memories I had actually hurt to ponder because life was nothing like what it had been. No; what sustained me was truth like Romans 8:28-30. What sustained me was the truth of who God was as found especially in the Psalms. Psalm 46 was an especially comforting passage at the time.
Experiences are fleeting; they are here one minute and gone the next. That is why after one, we need to generate another. A lot of these young people who look for these experiences do so after they leave home and search for a church on their own. I wonder if this is just a process they must go through, to test the waters. I truly hope so, because what I'm thinking is that the reliance on "experiences" is just another form of legalism. It's a reliance on an outward "thing" to define our faith rather than the revealed Word of God.
