Kenyan youth commit themselves to pursuing purity

 

Wait . . .

Thursday

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature.

-- 2 Peter 1:2-4

by Tara Taylor

Sixty young people sat before me, waiting to hear what a white American woman might have to say. I’d been invited to teach at a church conference near Nairobi and was asked to lead some afternoon sessions with the youth. Unprepared to dialogue with such a large group, I went to the Lord and was directed to simply share my story.

I talked about my life as a Christian in America, being single and trying to live a pure life while balancing all the normal human desires for intimacy in relationship. It was that last bit that brought the room alive with questions.

“Can you tell us how far is too far in a relationship?”

“Is Western culture really like they show in the movies?”

“Do women in America really wear the tumbo cut (a midriff shirt revealing one’s “tumbo” or stomach)?”

The next three days were spent dialoguing together about what it means to live life according to God’s standards. We recognized that the influence of Western culture on Kenya’s youth has been very detrimental. Through the media, worldly standards of compromise and lust have been introduced or widely reinforced.

And yet the Lord has preserved the hearts of these young people. In the face of increasing temptation, they are running to the Lord and to the Church, asking to learn how to live in the world without being conformed to it. On our last day together, the youth wrote a declaration through which they would encourage one another in their pursuit of holiness.

“We declare our desire to walk in God’s truth, to live according to His word and to model holy and pure lives to the glory of God….”

By God’s power and grace, they will succeed.

Please pray for the youth of Kenya as they daily face the temptations of the world.

Holy God, protect the youth of Kenya, the U.S. and all other countries from the harmful influences of our media and peer pressure. Help us to be bold in taking a stand for purity in our culture. Give us wisdom to know how to tell and show others that your love for us is untainted and that you ask us to be holy because you want the very best for us. This we pray in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.