Last weekend, it hit me.

While I was driving home on Saturday night, I noticed there were lots of cars out on the road. When I got up the next morning to drive to church, I practically had the road to myself.

The more I thought about what that meant, the more heartbroken I became.

Throughout history, following Christ has never been easy. God didn’t tell us it would be. Christians everywhere have been persecuted for their faith and always have had to overcome the lies the world tries to tell us.

But I believe it’s never been as hard as it is now.

You see, in this day and age, sin is so heavily broadcasted that it has become mainstream. Everywhere we turn, we see sex, alcohol, and money being idolized. We’re taught to believe that being “successful” is measured by material things. The world tells us that there are no consequences for the way we act.

Deep down, though, we can’t stand ourselves. On social media, we see #bodygoals, #relationshipgoals, #younameitgoals. We’re constantly feeling inadequate. We’re prioritizing the wrong things. We’re setting unattainable “goals” and putting pressure on ourselves to live an outwardly perfect life while we feel awful on the inside.

Sex is everywhere. Advertisements, movies, music, absolutely everywhere. There’s no way to avoid it. People are labeled as “easy” if the engage in it or “stuck-up” if they don’t. No one seems to win. Too many youths are falling into the trap and getting hurt.

Our marriage culture is ugly. In America, statistics tell us that 50% of all marriages fail. We’re horrible at terrified of committing. We’re taught that the only way we can truly know if we’re compatible with our partner is by living with them before getting married. We believe the lie that “love” and “lust” mean the same thing.

We are taught that a job that makes money is more important than a job that does good for the world. We are taught that the only things that can make us happy are things we can buy. We are taught that we don’t need anyone in our lives as long as we can fill our homes with enough toys.

As we grow up, if we don’t drink or do drugs, we are a part of the minority. We are shut out and deemed “uncool.” We adopt the mentality of “the sooner the better” and begin experimenting before we even understand the dangers what we’re doing.

When you look at all the problems, temptations, and challenges this world brings, it’s overwhelming. You begin to ask yourself how the heck we can win.

Well, my friends, I’ll tell you how we can win.

// We have victory through the CROSS. //

That’s how we get through it. That’s how we can stay focused on the goal. That’s how we can become Kingdom-builders. The Cross is the answer.

Jesus holds us up. Jesus shows us the way. Jesus is all we need.

It’s so easy to be heartbroken when we look at how much this world is suffering. Millennials, we are the ones who decide the direction society is about to go. When you begin to give in to the temptations, remember that we have a God bigger than it all. Don’t let anyone keep you from shining the light of Jesus.

Show this world the reason why we have hope.