Solomon, the wisest man of the Old Testament, had so much to say to young people about their lives. A quick search of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes shows that he mentions child, children, son, sons, young and youth over 85 times in these books.
Evidently one of the purposes Solomon wrote these books was to give instruction to his children. He uses the expression “my son” 23 times. He wanted his son to live a life filled with wisdom. Take time to think about his closing words to young people found in Ecclesiastes chapter twelve.
“Remember now your Creator…” These words presuppose that young people would be taught about God when very young. You cannot remember what you have never learned. God’s plan is for children to learn about Him from infancy (2 Tim. 3:15).
“Remember now your Creator…” There is an urgency in these words. It is foolish to wait to do right. Hearts are open and tender in our early years, so do it now! It’s always right to do right, right now! Failure to do this is so foolish.
“Remember now your Creator…” lt is true that He is the Creator of the entire universe, but this concept can be so impersonal and vague. It is imperative that young people realize He made them, individually and personally.
“Remember now your Creator…” He is the Almighty God, the origin of any reality you know. Paul described this in these words, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God has shown this so clearly that there is not a single person who cannot know of His majesty and power (Rom. 1:19-20).
“Remember…before the difficult days come…” One cannot be wise and not make preparation for what lies ahead. You cannot wait until those days arrive and then deal with them. It is in our youth that we must prepare.
“Remember…before the difficult days come …” There is a strong tendency for young people to live only in the present and fail to look to the future. Solomon speaks of the years when trials will come, and you may be unable to cope with them. Life is not always lived on the mountains of carefree happiness. On the other side of those mountains are valleys of trials.
“Remember…before the difficult days come and… when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.” Very few young people realize that it is in our youth that we set the course for the rest of our lives. There is one decision that we must teach our young people to make. That decision is “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come and years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’” God help us to seriously think about this!
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Near the entrance of Gethsemane, He left eight of the apostles and then took Peter, James and John
closer to the place where He was to pray. He left this “inner circle” and “…went a little further, and fell
on His face, and prayed” (Matt. 26:39, KJV). He went further than others—He always did—and
told us to do the same.
Thanks to God for the wonderful example of His Son.
In the Sermon on the Mount, He talked about going beyond where others would go. When compelled
by a Roman soldier to carry supplies for a mile, Jesus said we should go a greater distance and carry it
two (Matt. 5:41). If someone thinks he needs our tunic, Jesus said we should go the greater distance
and give him our outer garment as well. He went further, and so should we.
Think of the application this has in every area of our lives. When we see how the world lives with its
measure of morality, we should do more. The ungodly do good to those who do good to them, but
Christians return blessing for cursing, good for ill treatment and prayers for those who prey on us
(Matt. 5:44). He went further, and so should we!
Christian husbands and wives need to go further in the way they treat their mates than anyone else on
this earth. Agape love does not wait until a spouse treats them with kindness. Christians go further,
and they go further first! Christian parents go further with how they deal with their children than
those in the world. Our children’s friends should see how we treat our children and be jealous!
Christian children go further in honoring their parents than their friends at school do to their
parents. Remember that Jesus went further and so should we!
Christians go further in the workplace than their fellow workers. The Bible uses the term “eye service”
to describe those who work only when the eyes of their employers see them. Christians do not give eye-
service—they go further (Eph. 6:6). They also work just as diligently for unkind bosses as they do for good ones (1 Pet. 2:18). Our Lord went further, and so should we.
Now, take this principle and make it part of your life and part of the life in your family. Going further
than others expect will change you and will brighten the light you shine. It will also shock those
around you. They likely have never met someone who goes the extra mile. Perhaps they will even see
you as part of a church that practices this lifestyle and be led to become part of this great family.
Why not take a moment right now and think of what you did yesterday or today where you could have
done more? Do not ever forget.
He went further and so should we!
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While many know the details of the lives of some of the kings of Israel like David and Solomon, their lives would be so blessed today by studying the details of the life of king Hezekiah. He was king of the southern kingdom of Judah when the ten northern tribes were destroyed by the Assyrians. Assyria’s army then came and surrounded Jerusalem. The prayer of Hezekiah moved God to annihilate 185,000 Assyrians who had surrounded Jerusalem without Hezekiah’s army having to shoot a single arrow (2 Kgs. 19).
Shortly after this great victory Hezekiah became sick, and Isaiah came to him with this message from God. “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live” (2 Kgs. 20:1). What an amazing message, and what a blessing this horrendous day can be to us if we just imagine we had been that king. How would you respond if you knew that this would be the last day of your life and that tomorrow you would die?
Read all the details of what happened that day and what Hezekiah did when the message came to him. Because of the king’s actions, God added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life. Tragically, he made grave mistakes in those years.
The truth is that whether we die today, tomorrow or fifteen years from now really does not matter. Some day I will die. Some day you will die. Hear the words of God, “It is appointed for men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We have the appointment to die, but unlike Hezekiah, we do not know the time of that appointment. The message for us is so obvious. All of us must make sure we are ready to keep that appointment and the event which follows.
The reason for this urgency is found in the last words of this verse from Hebrews—”…after this the judgment.” Daniel Webster, the American statesman, said that the most sobering thought he ever had was that some day he must stand before God and give an account for how he lived. Consider the fact that the lives of all men would be changed if they never forgot this sobering thought, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
Unlike what happened to Hezekiah, God has not sent the prophet Isaiah to come to our house to tell us that we should set our houses in order for the end of our life has come. However, is this not the message found repeatedly throughout the scriptures? We may not know for certain the time of our death, but we know for certain that we shall die. How would you live today if you knew that this would be your last day on this earth? It could be!
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The theme for this year has been “At His Cross.” The emphasis for this month is that each of us finds truth at His cross. As you stand at the foot of His cross, what great truths come into your heart? Sometimes our greatest understanding of truth comes in the midst of great trauma.
At His cross, I learn the truth about myself. There were so many who were impacted by His death and each had his own reason for being there. I wonder if I would have stood beside those who mocked Him? Would I be among those who walked by and kept going with little interest in what was happening? Would I have stood beside His mother and sought to comfort her, or would I have not been there at all like those disciples who fled from the garden? The answer to these questions might be discovered by seeing what emotions I have during the meditation I do when I commune with Him around the His table.
At His cross, I learn the sinfulness of mankind. Think of all the evil that filled the hearts of those evil men whose agenda brought about His death. Three times Pilate asked these men, “What evil has He done?” (Luke 23:22). There is no answer to this question, for He never did even one thing wrong. The Jews could not find any evidence as to why He should die until two false witnesses lied about what He had said about the temple.
Why was the mob so enraged? Why were the words spoken to Him and about Him so filled with such blasphemy? Evil is a reality in our world and it has never been seen more clearly than at the foot of the cross.
At His cross, I learn the truth about my inability to save myself. My own “goodness” could not take away the guilt of only one sin. The only hope I have of heaven is that hanging on that cross was the One whose sinless life could redeem me. My sinfulness means I owed a debt, and on that cross was One who paid my debt. There was nothing I could do to remove sin and God sent His son to pay my debt. I feel my sinfulness and helplessness at the cross.
At His cross, I learn about God’s providential love which surrounds me now. Jesus died for me, a mortal worthy of the torment of hell because of my rebellion. Now if God did that much for me when I was His enemy, how much more will He do for me now that I am His child? Mediate on these words, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…For if when we were enemies we
were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:8-10). He loved me then and He loves me much more now!
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