THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 23, JULY 7, 2002

SOLOMON WASN’T THE ONLY ONE  

          If you will recall, last week’s bulletin article was entitled, “Remember Also Your Creator In the Days of Your Youth”, and was an examination of Ecclesiastes 12:1 – 7.  However, Solomon wasn’t the only biblical writer to teach the need to be spiritually minded while young.  As a matter of fact, all of the writers who address the subject in God’s Word are unanimous in teaching that when a person is young is the ideal time for seeking God and coming to know and obey Him.  

            In Deuteronomy 31:12 & 13, we find, “Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: and that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.”  

            David wrote in Psalm 34:11, “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”  

            Once again, from the pen of Solomon, we find in Proverbs 4:1 – 4, “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.  For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.  For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.  He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live.”  

            Why is it so important to love God and to obey Him while young?  There are several reasons that I can think of.  For instance,

remember Proverbs 22:6?  Solomon wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  A young person is like a blank computer disk.  Little by little information is put onto that disk and it is only what goes onto that disk that can be retained.  Youth appears to be the time when a person is most receptive and capable of learning.   The older a person get, the harder it becomes to learn.  We’ve all heard the expression, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.  There is a certain degree of truth to that statement.

To illustrate the importance of instruction while young, consider a few verses from Judges 2.  This is after the children of Israel had completed the Conquest of Canaan.  We find in verse 7, “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that He did for Israel .”  Skipping down to verse 10, we find, “And also all that generation were gathered unto their father: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel .”  All it took was one generation of young people who were not trained, one generation of young people who did not seek after the Lord in their youth, and look what happened.  “There arose another generation which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel .”

It is important to love and obey God while young for it is a time when God can be most easily remembered.  A young person has not had the time or opportunity to be hardened or disillusioned by a lifetime of viewing things from the wrong perspective.  A young person has not yet been burdened with the worries of “making a living”.  Most young people had not yet been burdened with illnesses and disease that so often accompany advancing years.

It is important to love and obey God while young because He deserves it.  He is the Creator and Provider of all things that we need and enjoy.  Colossians 1:16 & 17, tell us, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”

Unfortunately many teenagers just don’t see how being a Christian can be useful to them – they just don’t see how it is relevant in their lives.  They see it as just “going to church” and interfering with a lot of other things they would rather be doing. (Did you ever notice how many school activities seem to take place on Wednesday night?)    They see spiritual activities like worship and bible study as something that mom and dad “make” them do.  But I’ll tell you something – Christianity as a way of life, and that is what it is, just makes sense.

Just think of some of the young people who played very important parts in Bible history and who are presented as outstanding examples, not just to young people, but to all people.  Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego of Daniel 3.  Consider 17 year old Joseph in Genesis 37, and then not much older in Genesis 39.  How about Jesus at the age of 12 in the temple (Luke 2:41 – 52)?   There is also the young evangelist Timothy to whom Paul wrote two letters.   These are all examples of people who greatly affected the lives of others while they were young.   All of the young people here can be that way as well.  You can greatly affect not only your life, but the lives of your family, acquaintances, and friends.   

            We are going to have more to say next week, Lord willing, about the relevance of being a Christian while young.  Be watching for it.

Gregory Litmer

ANSWERED PRAYER?  

            A preacher had the habit of bowing his head during the last verse of the song before the lesson.  One day a little girl who regularly attended services and sat close to him asked him why.

            “Well, honey, I’m asking God to help me do a good job and to preach a good sermon.”

            “How come He doesn’t do it?”  the little girl asked.