Dear young believers,
Right now you have lots of energy and life is exciting. Don’t let that draw you away from God. Now is the time to love Him. Use your energy for Him.
Sincerely, Solomon
Even though no one believes my age when I tell them, I’m getting old. So this advice isn’t for me. But by God’s grace, I was raised in a Christian home and came to know Him at a young age. A lot of missionary kids rebel when they come to the States, but I never doubted or turned away from the faith I was raised with. I remembered God when I was young and I’ve walked with Him my whole life.
So I should pass my experience on to the young. I have lots of opportunities to do this.
Teach my grandchildren: It’s natural to teach them little rules of behavior, like using a napkin and saying please. But teaching them about God takes a little more thought. They know to pray at meals, but am I conscious of how my words teach them to be intimate with God? When I read books to them, do I encourage them to choose Bible stories? Do I tell them how much God loves them? I have so much to teach them.
Teach Sunday School and Vacation Bible School: I’m not always excited about teaching. Sometimes it seems like more work than I want to do. And in class I feel like I spend more time saying “Be quiet and listen” than I do teaching. But those children are precious to God (and to me) and I want them to know Him. I need to pray for them before I teach and focus on what I want them to learn about our Lord.
Support the youth group: I’ve been a youth group leader, but presently I don’t really have much interaction with the youth at our church. But there are plenty of times when the leaders ask for support. Even if all I do is make cookies for a meeting, I’m helping someone else teach them to remember God in their youth.
I recently saw a lot of old friends at a wedding. Naturally we talked about our kids, most of whom I taught in Sunday School when they were younger. Now they are young adults and, sadly, some of them are on what one parent called a “sideways track.” They have temporarily forgotten their Creator. I’m sad about that and I can, and do, pray for them. But how much better if they had not gone down this road.
I want to do everything I can to help the children and youth that are in my life now to remember Him always.
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