“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain… If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:14,19).
Every person has a different view about life.  Some people have little or no ambition in life, while others set goals.  For example, dedicated musicians will discipline themselves to learn the piano or violin….  There are those who want to be professional athletes, so they work and train hard at it.  They take athletics seriously; it is the focal point of their life.  Others study for years to become doctors or lawyers, etc.  However, people who aim at nothing often hit their targets! 
Question: What makes the difference?  It is a matter of seriousness!  By that I mean with the intelligence and abilities which God has given us, how do we approach our objective in life?
  I am concerned about the direction young people are going these days.  It appears to me that few, I mean very few people take Christianity seriously!  It has become more of a religion for others rather than a personal reality.  Christ the person is distant to many, He is only someone historical ...
                                                                       Christianity is Essential
   If Christianity is false, our preaching is in vain!  The Apostle Paul basically said, If Christ did not rise from the dead, our faith is pointless, we are still in sin and we are miserable people…  He goes on to proclaim, if the gospel is not true then who needs it?  If Christianity is false, “If the dead rise not?  let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die” (vs32).  This is how people are living today.  Living as if there is no reason to take God serious nor to live for Him.  The main desire for most in society is to eat, drink and be merry!
  The Word of God says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead…” (1 Corinthians 15:20).  This is why Christianity is Essential!  Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  Nobody else has every done that!  Buddhists, Muslims and many other religions have some good moral values, but, “... in Christ shall all be made alive” (vs22).  Not in Buddha, not in Allah nor in any other false god, but in Christ we shall be made alive eternally.  “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  This is essential, it demonstrates the seriousness of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.  “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:12).
                                                                       Christianity is Enlightening
   The average person doesn’t think much about life after death.  It is sad that so many walk in darkness on the road to eternal destruction!  People don’t know about life after death.  Most everyone has an opinion or a theory…  The streets and coffee shops are full of self proclaimed philosophers with their false teachings.  Some promote Reincarnation:  After death, we are reborn and live another life as a human.  Others, Pantheism: God is all that exists.  God is at once the entire universe, and transcends the universe as well. Some speak of, Channeling: A method similar to that used by Spiritists in which a spirit of a long dead individual is conjured up.  And, Universal Religion: Since all is God, then only one reality exists, and all religions are simply different paths to that ultimate reality.
  Listen, these are all deceitful lies from Satan!  True born-again Christians know the truth!  We know God’s Word is the final authority.  We know there is a Heaven and the saved will go there.  We know there is a Hell and the lost will go there.  We know if we die we will be raised and given new glorified bodies.  We know if we are alive when Christ returns for His believers, our bodies will be changed in an instant and be with the Lord forever. 
  Not maybe, not we think so, but we know!  The Word of God says, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).  Biblical Christianity is enlightening.
                                                                            Christianity is Exciting
   One reason young people don’t take Christianity seriously is because they see it as something dull and boring.  They’re wrong; Christianity is exciting!  Perhaps the world offers them more glitter and attraction.  Certainly the nightclubs and nightlife is a temptation for excitement…  The problem is a faulty viewpoint, or how we look at things.
  Christianity is exciting!  When you receive Christ as your personal Saviour you become a child of the King “and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).  That makes you special and important.  That’s exciting.  Christians walk in light while those around us walk in darkness.  That is, we walk with knowledge from God’s Word while others walk in the ignorance of man’s philosophies.  We walk towards a wonderful, bright future of Heavenly bliss!  That’s exciting!  While the lost masses advance through life towards doom and damnation.  We walk with a God who loves us and will answer our prayers, as our Heavenly Father.  Others cannot pray to God as their Father until they pray to receive Christ as their Saviour and become a child of God. 
  What about you?  Are you excited?  Do you take Christianity serious?  The Bible says, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).  Perhaps you’ve never trusted Christ to save your soul...  Look to Him now in a word of prayer and ask the Lord to forgive you of your sin and to come into your heart as your personal Saviour. 
  Take Christianity serious and if you’re not saved you might pray something like this: “Dear Father in Heaven, I thank you for sending the Lord Jesus to die upon the Cross for me.  I repent with sorrow for all my sins, and ask you to forgive me and help me live for You.  Please cleanse me with Your precious Blood.  I open my heart and by faith I ask You to come into my life.  I now accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior! In Jesus’ Name I pray.  Amen.”

                                                                                                                                               Tom Meador