When we look at all the sins and tragedies in the world, it's easy to blame the church for lack of teaching and guidance over the youths' spiritual lives. But we need to remember that the parents need to be just as involved in their lives as the Church.

Plus, with the busyness of kids today, church usually takes a back seat, not because the church doesn't have enough going on, mind you. Some I've butted heads with are:
1) Schools give out grades, churches don't/can't, and students have grown up learning that grades take front seat to their future, or if it doesn't grade, it can't be that important.
2) After-school events (sports, clubs, etc.) promote the chance of getting a scholarship for college...attending an after-school Bible study doesn't.

And so one of the main struggles of the church is convincing youth (and parents) though these may be good for their kids' future careers and educations, such is just temporary, and their realationship with Jesus is what's most important.

Example: I used to teach martial arts. A father signed up his ADHD son, hoping we'll pound some discipline into him. But he only brought him by for 1 hour, once a week (and he sometimes missed a week), even though there were classes all week long. And his lack of advancement showed that he also didn't practice at home anything that he'd learned in class. One day, the father invited me over to the house. While there, his son was a terror! He'd hit his younger sister, throw things, write on the walls, etc., and his only means of discipline was a calm-sounding, "Son, please don't do that," or "son, I wish you wouldn't do that." So then a few months down the line, the father complains to me about how disappointed he is that though his son's taking classes there, he wasn't becoming better behaved.

Do you see the problem here? In the same manner, youth come to church for youth events maybe 1-2 times a week, even if the church has something for them all week. In fact, I've experienced parents becoming upset with their kids for spending too much time at the church (seriously!). So in the same manner, if the parents aren't participating in their youths' spiritual lives, and the youths aren't disciplining themselves spiritually (praying, reading the Bible, journaling, behavior, etc.) then the only time they're getting a dose of God is when they're at church, which we already established was rarely being visited.

And I believe that's one of the points of this blog: youth are not digging their roots down into the good soil, but instead falling along the path, thorns, and rocky ground. So when they get to college, some get trampled on and eaten by birds, some stray from the Living Water and thus dry up, and some get choked by the weeds and thorns growing around them. And the shame being pointed out is not only the minimal number of those who actually fell among the good soil, dug their roots deep, and produced a hundredfold of fruit, but the fact that the numbers of plentiful crops continue to fall.

And the point of this parable isn't that the Church (or God) didn't do their job, but how those who received the Word responded to it or held onto it in the face of (in relation to this blog) trials, new experiences, and temptations in the world, which is also the point I'm getting from the blog (and many others like it).

hmmmm...And I believe that's one of the points of this blog: youth are not digging their roots down into the good soil, but instead falling along the path, thorns, and rocky ground. peeling skin So when they get to college, some get trampled on and eaten by birds, some stray from the Living Water and thus dry up, and some get choked by the weeds and thorns growing around them. skin pores And the shame being pointed out is not only the minimal number of those who actually fell among the good soil, dug their roots deep, and produced a hundredfold of fruit, orange skin but the fact that the numbers of plentiful crops continue to fall.