Award-winning singer and songwriter Matt Maher says the trend of Christians walking away from God can be partially blamed on believers not growing in their faith as they age.
Maher, who has won six Dove Awards and has been nominated for nine Grammys, told Christian Headlines that the faith of a seasoned Christian should be stronger than that of a new believer.
“A lot of people are walking away from their faith,” Maher told Christian Headlines. “... If you're looking at God in your 40s the same way you did when you were 10, [then] you have to walk away from that. Because that's not an adequate faith for a 40-year-old, or a 30-year-old or a 20-year-old.”
The Christian life, Maher added, requires growth.
“You have to grow. That's why Paul says, ‘When I was a child, I used to think like a child, and now I put childish ways aside,’” Maher said, citing 1 Corinthians 13:11. “So for me, it's this thing of like, as I grow in life, life becomes more and more uncertain, imperfect, chaotic, crazy. And I find that I need God more now than I did before.”
Maher urges young Christians to keep their focus on Jesus.
“I think the lesson is for young people to remember that Jesus not only died on the cross, but He suffered and died on the cross. Suffering actually has a redemptive aspect to it. It's not meaningless, it's not pointless,” Maher said. “... He experienced mental anguish, He experienced anxiety, He experienced sort of this mental strain so much that He sweat drops of blood.”
Every Christian, Maher said, has a “dark night of the soul.”
“Christ went lower than any of us could ever imagine. So no matter how low you are, He's lower,” Maher said.
Maher is known for such songs as Because He Lives (Amen), Christ Is Risen, Lord, I Need You, All The People Said Amen, Your Grace Is Enough and Alive & Breathing. He has written music for Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Casting Crowns, Hillsong, and We Are Messengers, among others.
He recently recorded a song and music video, The In Between, inspired by The Chosen.
“My faith will always be a part of me,” Maher said.
Photo courtesy: ©Josiah Weiss for K-LOVE Fan Awards, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
