The path of the Christian life is not as clear as many of us would hope. Today, the world is constantly pulling us in every direction and pressuring us to devote ourselves to ourselves: it’s your life, your body, your decisions. No one else should matter as much as you do.

Society, and its media and industry, have rejected God, warping the definition of individuality and shifting focus from the Creator to the creature. Everything is about pursuing individual pleasure, about feeling good and having fun. This self-centeredness runs rampant, and it is our duty as believers to live counter to the culture and to stand up for the truth of Scripture.

Lately, I’ve been learning that, despite the changes that we will go through as we grow up, our devotion to the Lord should be our top priority. Our mindset should resemble that of John the Baptist in John 3, decreasing ourselves so that Christ and the gospel might increase.

This year I moved to a new state, a new ...