Confirmation

Yesterday we confirmed 11 youth, with 3 more to come that were not able to be there. Confirmation is a confirming of baptism vows made by these 7th and 8th graders or made on their behalf by their parents. Most of this group had been baptized as babies, but several were baptized later by their choice. Before they were confirmed officially they were preparatory members of our church and now they are full members.
I shared yesterday about a lesson I hope they will never forget from all of the lessons they learned in confirmation. The one I pointed out was to never run with your eyes closed. One of the students after a "faith walk" activity where they were blindfolded, enjoyed it so much that he ran out of the woods with his eyes closed. He ran straight into a board and broke his nose.
There are also spiritual connections to running with your eyes closed. I think many people in the world are running with their spiritual eyes closed, which leads to brokenness. Many people run through life making poor decisions, hurting other people, and thinking there are no consequences. They are running blind to the truth of God. So we need to run with our eyes open and help others open their eyes to the true way to run through life by living God's love and grace.
Another important lesson I would want to share with these young people is to make great Christian friends. My favorite memories and the best times of my life have happened with my Christian friends. We had great fun together with late nights, deep discussions, and making a difference in the world. This does not mean not to have friends that are not Christians because non-Christians need God's love too, but we need good friends who will help us stay on the path of God.
Does anyone else have a word of advice or a lesson you have learned that might help these young people grow in their faith? If you want to comment I can pass it on to the group. What has been an important lesson you have learned and maybe you wish you had learned it earlier. So share your thoughts and also say a prayer for these newly confirmed students.