Youth: August 2019
Table of Contents
Youth
Life begins with the heart. “There is no doubt that the heart controls the life.” Barnabas exhorted the young converts at Antioch “that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23). The wise man exhorted his son in memorable words, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). While a youth, Daniel “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” Are you a young believer? The Lord says to you, “My son, give me thine heart.” Have you done so?
Consider the youth David. God rejects Saul for service, saying, “Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God” (1 Sam. 13:13). Instead, “the Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart.” Who was that man? Jesse’s seven oldest sons are presented to the prophet Samuel. None pass the test. Samuel is told, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Then Samuel asks Jesse, “Are here all thy children?” He answers, “There remaineth yet the youngest.” “Fetch him.” “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” At the end of David’s life, the Lord could say, “David ... kept My commandments, and ... followed Me with all his heart.”
Youth - Cleanse - Way
We want to notice these three things: youth, cleanse and way. They are found in Psalm 119:9. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.”
In our translating work, we find that “young man” here means youth, so the feminine gender is not excused from this tremendous obligation before God. “Wherewithal shall youth cleanse its way?” Perhaps you will be surprised, but I trust that you will not be offended when I tell you the meaning of youth. Did you ever see a lion in a rage, with that fierce look on his face and his mane up? That is one meaning of youth. If you were to read Jeremiah, you would find that, twice over, youth means to yell. Did you ever see children running out of school? Indeed we have, yelling as they rush out. We have seen them and we have heard them — youth. But there is still another meaning. Did you ever see a naughty child, when mother corrects it, fall on the floor, bite the table leg and kick? Youth also means a “fit of passion.” Youth, youth! Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before those evil days come upon thee, and rejoice, young man and young woman, in thy youth. But see to it that you know Christ as your Savior before you embark upon this journey so laden with sin and wickedness. See to it that you are His through faith in His precious blood!
Now that word “cleanse.” Cleanse has two meanings. A father sends his son to clean the windows of his car. He cleans them so that his father can see through. That is one aspect of it. But there is another meaning to the word “cleanse.” It is to be cleansed from defilement. Yes, from defilement. Another word for it might be transparent — you can see through it. So then, clean has two meanings: first of all to be made clean in the precious blood of Christ, and then to be transparently clean in your testimony here below.
There are also two meanings to “way.” One is the trampled way which you see along the streets where the feet of men and women of every category have been marching daily. That is the trampled way. There is another way, and we have this word in the original here: It is the right way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). I got an illustration of this when we traveled up on an old cargo steamer from South America once. Off the coast of Ecuador it was a stormy night and our steamer was quite a distance away from the shore. I said to my wife, “I wonder how that pilot boat will ever find its way to us across these stormy waters on such a black night.” While I was talking to her, as we watched the waves, the light shone right across the stormy sea. In that light the pilot boat came safely to our ship. God’s Word which we have in our hands is a light across this hell-going way. Let us not be mistaken, beloved; across this way we have this blessed Book and we have Jesus at the beginning and at the end of the way, for He is the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.
E. F. Smith
An Abundant Entrance
2 Peter 1:2-11
I would like to consider how we have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To come dragging into heaven — just squeezing in — is not characteristic of Christianity, for instead of divine love being there, it is rather a fear of judgment. God has equipped us with a nature which can be satisfied only with divine glory, and every Christian is going to “make port.” But what kind of an entrance are we going to have? I trust that we all desire to have an “abundant entrance,” and we have the recipe for it here in this chapter.
Being made “partakers of the divine nature” is not so much here the new birth, but rather the practical result of it. We get it in the first part of the fourth verse, for if the soul lays hold on these promises which belong to it, living in the enjoyment of them, the result will be the manifestation of the divine nature.
When one comes down to the time of leaving this world, the kind of an entrance he is going to have at the end will largely depend upon the kind of an entrance he had during his life — the Christian experience he had been enjoying. The way to look forward with confidence to that change is to have operative in the soul these virtues that are spoken of in the intervening verses of our chapter (vss. 3-10).
Lay Hold of the Promises
The third verse reads, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” As young Christians, we sometimes excuse ourselves for our shallowness on the ground that our circumstances are not advantageous to the kind of a life we would like to live. You may have reasoned it out and think that it would be different if you were living in a different position. But here there is not one thing lacking; we have a complete equipment. God is not going to ask us to live for Him and then put us into a position where we cannot do so. No! Right in our present position God has given us the fullest resources to live for Him. We do not have to wait until we are older, or know our Bibles better, before we begin to live for Him.
How do these “exceeding great and precious promises” make us “partakers of the divine nature”? It is the entering into and enjoying these promises as realities. The result is that I am so under the power of them that other things lose their charm. When we really lay hold on the promises that are ours, that hope works out in our lives in a practical way, and we are seen to be “partakers of the divine nature.”
Escape Corruption
The latter part of that verse says, “Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” As young people, we cannot value it too highly. If that were true in the days of Peter, how doubly true today. What is lust? It is unsatisfied desires, and this world is one constant succession of new desires. How different with those who know the Lord Jesus Christ! Divine realities give peace and quiet to the soul. I grieve to see the pace of the young in this world — the shamelessness of the age, without restraint; they are turned loose to glut themselves with what this world has to offer. We have been graciously taken out of it, and such a worthy Object as we have found cannot help but have a tremendous effect upon our lives. How we ought to value the blessed place in which we find ourselves! Could we think of a more blessed place than to have the association of those who love Him in sincerity and truth? It is a wonderful privilege.
Diligence
In verses 5-7 we are told, “Besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.” None of us want to get the reputation of being lazy in material things, but there is much in Scripture about being diligent in divine things. So this verse says, “Giving all diligence.” There must be purpose of heart. That is true with anything in this world wherein people succeed; people do not stumble into success. It is a matter of hard work, of having a purpose and letting that purpose form and control the soul.
Now verse 8: “If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I know the Lord does not occupy us with the fruitfulness or unfruitfulness of our lives, but none of us want to be unfruitful. Here is the way to bear fruit, to be a fruitful branch for the Lord Jesus.
Suppose we lack these things? “He that lacketh these things is, blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (vs. 9). There is a government of God operative among His people, and if a Christian becomes indifferent and worldly minded, lets divine things slip, and becomes taken up with this world, in a corresponding measure he loses the consciousness of the blessedness there is in Christ. He does not lose the blessedness, but the consciousness of it. It is possible for a Christian to forget that he was purged. He does not even know whether or not he is a child of God. We want to escape that, do we not? We want to have the constant assurance in the soul that we are headed for glory. Here is the way we get it: “If these things be in you, and abound, they shall make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Never Fall
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (vs. 10). God knows that we are going to be there, but this is the way to have constantly fresh in our souls the assurance of it — to make it sure to ourselves. Just as surely as we are careless and involve ourselves in this world, we lose that assurance and, perhaps, even get into a state where we forget that we were purged from our sins. We do not have to fall. It does not bring any glory to the Lord Jesus for us to fall. It brings dishonor on Him, on the truth, and on the church of God.
“If ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Is not that a glorious entrance? That is the privilege of every Christian. It is not a question of endowment, gift or ability, but of the heart being occupied with Christ — living in the enjoyment of what we have as God’s people. Each one of us here is privileged to have an abundant entrance. It is put into our own hands, but at the same time we all know that the ability must come from Him. It is a matter of grace from first to last, and none of us are going to take any credit in the matter, but may we not rather claim the grace He so gladly gives, that we may have the joy of an abundant entrance “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
C. H. Brown (1927 Chicago Conference; adapted)
Generation Gap
The expression “generation gap” describes a difference between generations — a difference that can involve beliefs, tastes, opinions, moral values, dress, and even expressions in language. Throughout man’s history there has been a “generation gap” between young and old, not only because each era of our life span has its own outlook, but also because this world is always changing. We find an example of this in the Word of God, in Ezra 3:10-13. Some of the Jews were able to return to the land of Israel after the seventy years of captivity and rebuild the temple. When the foundation of the temple was laid, it is recorded that “many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house ... wept with a loud voice; and many shouted for joy” (vs. 12). Younger ones shouted because, for the first time in their lives, there was a divine center in Jerusalem, while older ones wept because this building seemed so insignificant in comparison with Solomon’s majestic temple. The Lord understood both of these reactions, for each was appropriate to the age group involved.
Change
At times the change in this world has been slow, but surely all would agree that in the last century the rate of change has accelerated greatly. Although there have always been differences between the generations, drastic differences were not much in evidence until the twentieth century. Before that time, most societies were not very mobile. Young people typically lived near their extended families and often worked on the family farm or in a family business. But with the advent of entities like movies and television, young people began to experience a world that was quite different from their own.
At least in North America, the various generations in the last one hundred years have been given names. The exact dates may vary slightly with different definitions, but here are the common names for those born between these dates:
1900 – 1924: the G.I. generation
1925 – 1945: the silent generation
1946 – 1964: baby boomers
1965 – 1979: generation X
1980 – 2000: millennials, or generation Y
2000 – 2010: Internet generation (iGen), or generation Z
It would seem that the profound and rapid changes in the world have exaggerated the so-called “generation gap,” and, further, we notice that, in general, the years assigned to the different groups get narrower as time goes on. Changes in the world are happening at a much faster pace, and the changes themselves are more extreme. This is especially true in the area of technology, where the arrival of computers, the Internet, cell phones, texting and Facebook have broadened the gap between young and old. All of this can have a positive effect, for older ones are often pleased with the technological proficiency of younger ones, while younger ones may reach out to older ones for their experience and wisdom.
Negative Effects
However, there can also be negative effects. For example, it is well known today that younger ones often feel free to speak to anyone, of any age, as if they were speaking to one of their peers. While this may not be intended as disrespect, it is certainly taken that way by older ones who are accustomed to being approached by young people with some degree of deference. We who are older may well ask, How are we, as Christians and as older ones, to react to all this?
First of all, young people want, above all, to be treated with respect. This does not mean that we treat them as we would treat older people, but it does mean that we respect them, try to understand them, and respect the fact that their outlook may be different from ours.
In addition, we need to “give of ourselves.” The Apostle Paul did this when he ministered to the various ones whom he sought to nurture in the truth, and we see this in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.” Instruction is good and much needed today, but cultivating a relationship along with it will add moral weight to the teaching. This may mean being vulnerable — being willing to share some of our life’s experiences, even to the point of admitting some of our own mistakes and failure. We accept advice much more readily if it comes from someone whom we feel that we know.
We also should be willing to overlook faults unless they are so glaring that they must be addressed. Some things will drop off in time, while others may simply be the manifestation of the different culture in which young people live and move today. We need to give them time to mature. Also, we must be careful that our objections are not merely based on tradition. It is easy to fall into certain ways of doing things, and when a particular convention is not followed, older ones can become upset. When western Canada was being settled, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were sometimes accused of making up the law as they went along, to suit the occasion. (This was true, and they even admitted it!) Let us not do that in divine things. Let us be careful to separate Scripture from tradition, and not try to enforce our customs as if they were taught by the Word of God.
Maintain Moral Principles
However, we should maintain the truth, moral principles and absolutes of the Word of God. The precious truth of God’s Word is being challenged in the world today, and the moral breakdown, at least in Western countries, has been nothing short of precipitous in the last few years. Young people are affected by all this, for they are being taught that everything is relative. They need those who hold fast to moral absolutes, backed up by the Word of God. I well remember a young Christian girl who, after a discussion on homosexuality based on the Word of God, commented, “I had no idea there was so much in the Bible on that subject!” This is where older ones can be a real help.
Finally, there needs to be genuine love — divine love. Where real love is present, the generation gap can be bridged, and each can learn from the other. But a critical attitude on the part of older ones can generate scorn and derision on the part of younger ones. This reaction is not right, to be sure, but older ones must take the lead in love and a right attitude, in order to pave the way for a right response by younger ones.
We must remember too that the Word of God is living, and never needs to be revised because of a new generation. It has all the answers, but as we get in 2 Peter 1:3, it is also found “through the knowledge of Him that has called us by glory and virtue” (JND). We need the Word of God, but we need Christ, the One who understands perfectly and who will instruct perfectly, if we go to Him.
W. J. Prost
Grown Up in Their Youth
In Psalm 144:12, we find a somewhat unique expression: “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth.” In the context in which the phrase occurs in Scripture, it is in anticipation of millennial blessing for Israel, and the verse expresses a wish for young men and women to display a character in keeping with the glory of that day. But how can one be grown up in his youth?
In natural things, those who are familiar with plants know that it is impossible for a growing plant, at any given time, to display anything but its particular stage of maturity. A wheat stalk with immature wheat kernels cannot “pretend” to exhibit fully mature wheat. A pumpkin or squash vine, while it is still in flower, cannot demonstrate developed fruit. But for the human race, we know that it is possible for those who are young to display a character and bearing that is far beyond their years, and perhaps to take on an assumed manner that does not suit their actual age. We refer to such children or young people as being precocious, and we may even judge them to be cocky, brash and overconfident. We may well ask, Is this what it means to be “grown up” in our youth?
Beautiful in Its Season
No, for to take on an air that is not becoming to our age and natural maturity is never right before God. Everything in divine things is beautiful only in its season. We see this exemplified in the life of our blessed Lord. When He went up to the temple with His parents as a twelve-year-old boy and sat among the doctors of the law, it is recorded that He was “hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46). He surely knew far more than all of them, yet His conduct was in keeping with that of a twelve-year-old. He was (and we speak reverently) “grown up” in His youth, for when His parents remonstrated with Him about it, His answer was, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” While He was subject to His earthly parents, He realized that His Father, who had sent Him down to this world, had work for Him to do that was outside of His obligations to Joseph and Mary.
Likewise, in the lives of younger believers in this world, we sometimes see behavior that is not precocious or out of place, yet shows a character of maturity and understanding that is beyond what we would normally expect from someone of that age. Perhaps two anecdotes from history will serve to illustrate this.
Two Anecdotes
Back in the sixteenth century, a man by the name of Robert lived in France. He was a Huguenot—one who knew and loved the gospel and traveled extensively to make it known to others. He had a wife and a young daughter named Arlette, and when his wife became ill and went to be with the Lord, his daughter, at perhaps ten years of age, was compelled to travel with him. Robert and his companions led the lives of wanderers and often had “no certain dwelling place.” One night they took refuge in an old hut in the forest and ventured to light a fire to keep warm. But the smoke from the chimney was detected by their enemies, and they were all arrested and brought to trial as heretics. As was customary in that day, the adults were all condemned to be publicly burnt at the stake, and the sentence was carried out a few days later. Little Arlette was spared, but she was present when her father and the other men were led out, tied to the stake, and the fire lit. As the flames rose up, Arlette’s godly feelings overcame her. As she had traveled with her father and others, she had often heard them speak of the prospect of martyrdom. And now it was happening! Breaking loose from those with whom she was standing, she ran into the flames, stood boldly by her father, and gave up her life with him.
As the Reformation took hold in England, the gospel was preached, and there was a real turning to the Lord by many. But when Queen Mary I ascended the throne in 1553, she made an attempt during her five-year reign to restore the authority of the Pope and turn England once again to Roman Catholicism. A young man named William Hunter, who lived in Brentwood, Essex, was caught one day reading his Bible and was arrested. He was interrogated a number of times and spent nine months in a dismal prison, with only a bit of bread and water to sustain him. His jailor was told to place upon him “as many iron fetters as he could possibly bear.” Finally, when he would not give up the truth of the gospel and his faith in Christ, he was led out to be burnt in March 1555. He remained steadfast to the end and gladly gave up his life at the young age of nineteen.
The Seriousness of Life
Both of these were “grown up in their youth,” not because they were trying to speak and act beyond their years, but because they realized the seriousness of life and the reality of the precious truths of Christianity. Their faithfulness may well serve as an example for all who are young. We may not all be called to die for Christ, in one sense, for the Lord allows some to live out their lives and to serve Him in this world. But in another sense, each one of us is called upon to die to our own thoughts and ambitions and to live for God’s glory.
The crown of life is mentioned twice in Scripture: once in Revelation 2:10 and also in James 1:12. In Revelation, it is the crown given to those who give up their lives for Christ, for the promise is: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” But in James we read, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.” Some will receive that crown for dying as martyrs, while others will receive it for resisting the constant temptations of this world, perhaps for a lifetime.
Discipleship
The Lord Jesus reminded His disciples that “if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it” (Matt. 16:24-25). In the days when these words were spoken, any man who was seen to take up his cross was going to die. It was the ultimate penalty for crime; the Romans made the victim carry on his back the very cross on which he would shortly be crucified. Whether we are called upon to die as martyrs (and many in this world today are suffering martyrdom for Christ) or whether we are allowed to live for Christ, the cost of discipleship is the same; we must be willing to give up everything for Him. The terms are not negotiable; if we fail to do this, the Lord says, “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). Some have failed in this and, repenting later in life, have boldly taken up the cross. But how much better to take up the cross in youth, whatever the cost may be! It is then that our ambitions and energy are at their height; it is then that a decision to live for Christ can set the tone for the rest of our lives.
W. J. Prost
Training for Service
When we are young, we have energy and strength. This is all good, for the Lord has given it to us, and when it is coupled with faith in Christ and a desire to please Him, this youthful vigor often shows itself in a wish to do something in service for our Lord and Master. Again, this is a good desire, and one that may well spring from real devotedness to the Lord, coupled with a longing to present our bodies “a living sacrifice,” which is our “intelligent service” (Rom. 12:1 JND). However, as in every natural endeavor, there is training needed for that service. This does not, of course, preclude our doing something for the Lord in our younger years, but often the kind of service which the Lord has for us requires more preparation than we realize. Thus it is easy when we are younger to launch out into that for which we are not yet ready.
To be sure, there are those in Scripture who served the Lord in an admirable way even when they were young. We find John the Baptist performing his service as forerunner of our blessed Lord Jesus when he was a young man, and, in fact, he was martyred early in life, probably not more than thirty-one years of age. Yet the Lord Jesus could say of him, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11).
Likewise, we find a young king like Josiah, of whom it is recorded that “when he was yet young, he began to seek after the Lord God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places” (2 Chron. 34:3). At the tender age of eight he ascended the throne of Judah, and by the age of twenty he was taking serious responsibility in that position. Timothy too was a relatively young man, yet Paul could say of him, “I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state” (Phil. 2:20).
Schooling and Training
However, in the main we find a course of schooling and training that preceded the full responsibility which God had for His servants. Moses was in his prime at the age of forty; he was “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22). Yet when he set out to deliver his people Israel, he went about it in the wrong way, and God sent him into the backside of the desert for forty years, seemingly to do nothing but keep sheep. Yet this was the training that was needed.
Likewise, when the Lord had great things in store for Joseph, He allowed him to be sold as a slave and eventually to end up in prison for quite a few years, before he was elevated to be governor over all the land of Egypt.
David was one of the best kings of Israel and “a man after God’s own heart,” yet the Lord allowed him to be a fugitive, persecuted and hunted by Saul, for a number of years before he was made king. As another has said, “He who was to be used of God to lead His people into a deeper knowledge of Himself must first learn to lean on Him when all others had failed.” David did not become king over Judah until thirty years of age, and he was not king over all Israel for another seven years.
Elisha
Elisha was evidently a successful farmer (1 Kings 19:19), and he was chosen of the Lord to succeed Elijah as the prophet of the Lord. But then the Lord allowed him to be a servant to Elijah for approximately ten years before He took Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind, thus making way for Elisha to take his place as prophet. Elisha must have learned about Elijah’s failure and consequent removal from his place as prophet, yet he was happy to accompany Elijah for a number of years and learn from him.
Timothy
In addition, we find in 1 Timothy 4:12-16 that Paul impresses upon Timothy the need for a godly walk, as the first thing that would commend him to others. We cannot take responsibility in serving the Lord without first taking heed to the “kingdom of God,” for the expression “the kingdom of God” brings before us a moral state and walk that is in keeping with those who recognize the Lord Jesus as the rightful King. Paul finalizes his instruction to Timothy by saying, “Give heed to thyself and to the teaching; continue in them; for, doing this, thou shalt save both thyself and those that hear thee” (1 Tim. 4:16 JND). We must look after ourselves before we can serve the Lord and be a help to others; we must save ourselves before we can save others. (The word “save” here has the thought of being saved from the power of sin in our Christian lives and from worldly influences; it does not, at least primarily, refer to eternal salvation.)
Worship and Service
Finally, we must remember that throughout the Word of God, worship always comes before service. In the law itself, the first commandments concerned what was due to God; then what was due to man followed. During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus summarized this same fact, showing that the first commandment concerned what was due to God, while the second brought in what was due to man. When the Lord had blessed Israel with a good harvest in the land of Canaan, they were to bring their firstfruits unto the Lord, and this is connected with worship (Deut. 26:1-11). It was only after this that tithing was mentioned and the importance of giving to the fatherless, the stranger and the widow.
This same order of worship and then service is found throughout the New Testament. In Hebrews 13:15, we are reminded to “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Then, in the next verse, we are told “to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:16). Peter tells us that we are now “an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5), while later in the same chapter he tells us that we are “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Again, the order is first worship, then service.
It is of paramount importance, then, to learn to be a worshiper first. Without being a true worshiper, one cannot be an acceptable servant. Our hearts and minds may become enamored by service, especially if others are actively engaged in it, and we may suppose that we can raise our spiritual state by getting involved. Seldom does this happen; all too often it will result either in our seeking to salve our conscience with one frantic activity after another, or else in a spirit of complaint, as happened to Martha when she felt overworked in serving. Before we can serve effectively, we must be in communion with the Lord.
Training then is very important, and varies with each one; with some the Lord imposes a longer training period than with others. It is important not to resent this, but rather to submit to the Lord’s tuition for us, in order that we might serve Him better. God is a God of quality, not quantity, and it is better to serve well for a short time than to seek to serve before we are ready.
W. J. Prost
Let No Man Despise Thy Youth
In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul says to him, “Let no man despise thy youth” (1 Tim. 4:12). As a young man, I well remember liking these words, and perhaps young people today can also relate to that feeling. Over one hundred years ago, a man named Joseph Conrad wrote a book entitled “Youth,” in which he describes his own experiences as the second mate on a ship from England bound for Bangkok, Thailand. It seemed that just about everything went wrong on that voyage, yet Conrad met it all with the typical self-reliance of a young man. He was only twenty years old at the time, a typical high-spirited and self-assured youth. Later, when he wrote the book at the age of forty, he reflected on the exuberance, energy and confidence he had exhibited on that voyage, while also noticing some of the indiscretions that had characterized him, due to his lack of experience. Perhaps some of our middle-aged and older readers can relate to this feeling.
An Example
The Word of God mentions youth a number of times and likewise gives us balanced instruction about it. First of all, as we have seen, Paul tells Timothy, who was evidently of a timid and retiring nature, not to let those to whom he ministered despise his youth. Why do older ones, even in natural things, sometimes despise youth? Because of a lack of experience, and perhaps a bit of a reckless, know-it-all spirit. On the other hand, why do young people sometimes look down on older ones? Because they may perceive them as having an ultra-conservative, stick-in-the-mud attitude that is reluctant to learn something new. But God recognizes spiritual energy and devotedness at any age, and if this is present, those who observe a younger man should not look down on him because of his age. However, it is abundantly clear from Paul’s instruction that something else is needed—there must be a godly walk. Timothy was to be “an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). Likewise, he was to give attendance “to reading, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13 JND). There must be a walk in keeping with the truth, and not simply a head knowledge of it.
Questioning
It is common in our youth to question what we are taught, as we mature and start to think for ourselves. There is nothing wrong with this, for sometimes what we have been taught is wrong, whether in natural things or spiritual things. New inventions are often the result of questioning current thinking, and in spiritual things, it was a going right back to the Word of God that spawned movements like the Reformation. Another has aptly commented on this same thing:
“There is nothing wrong with young people having an attitude like that of the Bereans, who ‘searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so’ (Acts 17:11). ... However, such searching of the Scriptures must be done in humility and dependence on the Lord, not in a spirit of rebellion or pride. It is this spirit of pride and rebellion that necessitates a warning.”
It is interesting to note that Paul himself, as a young man then named Saul, was what might be called a “student activist,” who used his youthful energy and zeal to seek to tear down what he felt was a serious threat to the religion of his fathers. But his independent youthful ideas only led him to sin seriously against God and man. When he was struck down by the Lord on the road to Damascus, he became a Christian and began to use that energy profitably. In reflecting on his activities before he was saved, he was compelled to call himself the chief of sinners.
Pros and Cons
It is God who created youth with strength and energy, but the wisest of men (Solomon), at the end of his life, could say, “Childhood and youth are vanity” (Eccl. 11:10). Also, Jeremiah commented, “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lam. 3:27). The same God who made youth what it is also recognizes that sin has spoiled it and that it is often necessary to steer those youthful energies in the right direction, rather than letting them take a wrong course. Even the world sometimes recognizes this, for Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of Britain during the nineteenth century, could write, “Youth is a mistake, manhood a struggle, old age a regret.” No doubt he recognized in his more mature years that he, like other young men, had been prone to make mistakes because of his overconfidence.
Remember Thy Creator
Our youth does not need to be that way. Likewise, Disraeli’s comments on manhood and old age do not have to be so in a Christian’s life. In the very next chapter (Ecclesiastes 12), Solomon gives us the antidote to the indiscretions and blunders of youth. He says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccl. 12:1). The creature cannot get along without his Creator, and especially now that sin has entered this world. Man’s natural desires lead him astray, and this is perhaps most evident when we are young. The fear of God must be present, and indeed Solomon brings this thought in, right at the end of the book: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). For us today, the commandments of God no longer consist of seeking to keep a certain law in order to please God, for the Old Testament testing of man made it clear that there was no good in the natural man. But when the Lord Jesus came, He told men about the most important commandment that must be obeyed. When the Jews asked Him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” His answer was, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent” (John 6:28-29).
In order to please God, whether in youth or in maturity, we need a new life from God. Then we can use our youthful zeal and strength in a right way and avoid the pitfalls that are so easy to experience in youth. More than this, we can have a youth that will not be despised, but will be a help to others. Again quoting Paul’s words to Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Tim. 4:16).
W. J. Prost
The Lost Axe Head
“And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it” (2 Kings 6:1-7).
In the earlier chapters of this book, some of these younger ones were not in a good state of soul, and had missed the mind of the Lord. But it would seem they were now growing in their souls. They said, “Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.” There appears to be a desire to develop, and they consult with an older one.
Desiring Fellowship of the Older Man
Then these younger ones said, “Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan.” Jordan speaks of our death with Christ; this was surely progress in their souls. But notice, they consulted with him. They said to Elisha, “Let us go...unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there where we may dwell.” And he answered, Go ye.” What happy approval! It has long been noticed that younger ones who act in independency without seeking the fellowship of their brethren often end in disaster. “And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.” They lovingly said, “We are not going to go without you, Elisha.” This is the road to wisdom and blessing. He replied, “I will go.”
“So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.” Wood in scripture often speaks of humanity, but it applies primarily to Christ. He, the eternal Son of God, became a Man. May we all desire to be building the testimony of His grace, to the blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Test
“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water.” Let us consider the axe head as a picture of the truth. He loses the axe head in the water. He thinks immediately of the “man of God,” and confesses it was borrowed. The truth is not ours; it is committed to us as a trust; we can lose it. May we value it and the One of whom it speaks! The “man of God” asks, “Where fell it?” Where did you lose it? This is very important. If we lose the truth it is not only the immediate loss of it that we need to fear, but it is where the drift started. We do not lose the truth without going through many “red lights.” He had to go back to the place of departure. When we neglect this, we are on the way to the loss of discernment, and of the truth itself. “And he showed him the place.”
The Shadow of the Cross of Christ
“And he cut down a stick.” How touching! We need to get back to the cross — the beginning of our blessing, and also where we find our restoration. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). “And the iron did swim.” Miracle! Oh, prove the Lord, and find out that He is faithful to His Word. But the axe head did not attach itself to the handle. “Therefore said he (Elisha), Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand and took it.” He had to get down on his hands and knees, reach out and take that axe head, and put it back onto the handle. The truth was restored to him, but he had to take a humble place.
New Testament Axe Heads
Paul, the older, says to Timothy, the younger:
Study to show (or, strive diligently to present) thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth (has) not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (cutting in a straight line) the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Timothy was to be a workman, cutting with his ax in a straight line. “The Word of Truth” was to be carefully handled; he was not to lose his “axe head.”
Another Axe Head
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity (love), in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Tim. 4:12-16).
“Let no man despise thy youth.” It was not that the Paul was saying to Timothy, “Don’t let them push you around because you are a younger brother;” rather Paul was saying to him, “Consistency, Timothy, consistency. If you are living out in your life the truth that you are teaching, they will not despise you.” Consistency in our life is so important! We all have a tendency to drift from “cutting in a straight line.” Fathers and mothers also need this. There is no moral power, fathers and mothers, if there is inconsistency in your life. It is the applying of that “axe head” consistently that is going to bring honor to the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.
Careful Use of the “Axe Head” Brings Reward
Then he says (verse 14): “Neglect not the gift that is in thee (be not negligent). Every one of us has received a gift. Take on those responsibilities; if the Lord leaves us here much longer, we older ones will be gone.
“Meditate upon (or, occupy thyself with) these things.” “These things” are heavenly truth; not the problems of this life. We are surely surrounded by problems, but the answer is Christ. He is the answer for every problem! “Give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting (or, progress) may appear to all.” How encouraging it is to see younger ones growing in their souls and assuming responsibility!
Mothers: Keep Your Eye on the Axe Head
You mothers—do not give up! Be an example and an encouragement to your daughters, young and old. Keep on! Remember Timothy’s mother, and his grandmother.
Paul says, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine (or, teaching); continue in them.” He warned in Acts 20 of the dangers from without, but he also warned of the dangers from within.
Another Axe Head
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured (or, fully persuaded) of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Tim. 3:14). We do learn truth from those who do not walk in it. If we are drawing from those who have bought the truth, paid for it in faithfulness to the Word of God and have left us their scripturally-proven writings, then we are going to be established in the truth. Stand for the truth and you will experience the Lord’s preserving care; you shall know the joy of living in a dark day for the Lord’s glory.
Hold the Axe Handle Lightly
Paul’s closing words to his beloved Timothy are, “The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen” (2 Tim. 4:22). The day of faith will soon be over — all the trials and sorrows and the fever of life shall be gone forever! The Lord Jesus is coming soon!
Norman Berry (adapted)
The Earlier the Better
Daniel is a most encouraging example for young Christians to consider. A captive at the court of the king of Babylon when we first read of him, he must only have been a youth in his teens. The start he got was a good one, for the impetus of it carried him through a very long life, through changing dynasties, and amid many vicissitudes. Some seventy years he served the Lord, sometimes in positions of great prominence, sometimes for years in obscurity.
What marked Daniel’s start? He was put to the test while young. He and three companions were chosen to be taught the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans, and thus fitted to take positions of honor and trust in the kingdom. A portion of the king’s meat and drink was allowed to them for the three years of their study. Then we read, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (Dan. 1:8). The king’s portion had doubtless been offered to the idols first, and as such Daniel would have none of it. It was a bold stand to make. A tyrannical monarch might easily have taken it into his head to slay the bold youth, who dared to insult his gods like that and to despise the very food that the king himself partook of.
The Secret of His Heart
What was the secret of his boldness? “Daniel purposed in his heart.” His heart was won for Jehovah. His soul revolted against the blind superstition of idolatry, and at all costs he would take his stand. No one can tell how the heart is thus won. We cannot whip ourselves into devotedness. It is well if the young Christian deplores his lack of heart for the Lord and turns to Him in prayer that it may be otherwise. This is a day of great lukewarmness. Laodicea — nauseating lukewarmness — is the last stage in the history of the church of God on this earth, the full-blown result of the first declension in Ephesus, the leaving of first love. It is the appreciation of the Lord’s love to us that will alone bring the answering love to Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is the love of Christ that alone can constrain us to live to Him and not to ourselves.
God’s Support
And see how God came in and supported Daniel. God was able to sustain the youthful Daniel in the presence of the proud monarch. We read that God had brought Daniel “into favour and tender love” with the prince of the eunuchs. When Daniel asked that he and his companions might be fed on pulse and water for ten days as an experiment, the prince of the eunuchs agreed to it. Ten days was not a long time for a food experiment, to have much result. But at the end of the ten days the faces of Daniel and his three companions were “fairer and fatter” than those who took of the king’s meat and drink. Best of all, when the three years’ study was completed, in matters of wisdom and understanding these four were ten times better than those who had partaken of the king’s meat and drink. Thus was Daniel justified.
But it all began with the heart. There is no doubt that the heart controls the man. The mind may tell you that such and such a course is not right, but it is the heart that carries the man. It was Barnabas who exhorted the young converts at Antioch “that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23). The wise man exhorted his son in memorable words, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).
It is a terrible thing when the young believer allows his heart to run after the things of the world. How insidious these things are! How well is it when the heart of the young Christian is set upon the Lord.
A. J. Pollock
Crucial Decision Period
A superficial knowledge of the Scriptures means a superficial Christian. Shall we be content with being merely superficial? Remember if we are shallow in the one, it means that there is too much room for the world to get in. Our minds are filled either with the Lord’s things, or those of the world. Which shall it be? Each of us makes our choice, and the choice is intensely solemn and fraught with great possibilities of good or evil. Youth is the crucial period for decision.
A. J. Pollock
Daniel
We consider it a very good sign indeed to see young men self-effacing and retiring. It is well for all, but especially for the young, to be “swift to hear, slow to speak.” We rejoice in every manifestation of spiritual gift, whether it be that of an evangelist, a teacher or a pastor. But the really spiritual person is always slow to push himself forward, while, on the other hand, men possessing no power whatever are the most forward to exhibit themselves. It took eighty years’ training to fit Moses for the ministry, and even after that, how slow he was to enter upon the work. Even the Master Himself, though surely needing no training, yet as an example for us, spent thirty years in retirement before He came forth to work in public. There must be the secret training by God’s own hand in order to fit a man for public service. If we go forth without this, we shall very speedily break down and make shipwreck. We will always find that, when God is about to use anyone in His service, He fits him for the work, He calls him to the work, and He gives him the work to do.
C. H. Mackintosh (adapted)
Secret Training Before Public Service
Those whom God has decided to use specially to instruct the church have been led to surrender themselves to the Lord when young. Saving grace may reach the soul at any period, and then surrender to the claims of Christ follows, but, as a rule, the best servants of Christ have been early converted and early led to yield their hearts and lives to Him. The result is that such have been more signally owned in the help of His people and the unfolding of His Word. There is a moral ground for this. If a man lives the best of his days in the gratification of his own pleasures and sets the will of God practically aside, must he not suffer the consequences in time, even though pardoned and brought to God? Grace may work wonders and lead an old man thus converted to accomplish great things. Yet when the young heart is won for Christ and has thereby escaped the deadening effects of sin, it is certainly more easily trained and taught and is therefore enabled to form a more correct judgment of truth, of things that differ, of those shades of meaning that call for a spiritual mind and a clear, undimmed eye.
Thus Saul was a “young man” when he was converted, and Timothy was a “youth”; so in the history of the church it will be found that the prominent teachers and distinguished leaders have been early found of the Lord. It is true that more than mere youth is needed. Our passage speaks of devotedness (1 Tim. 4:15). But a young heart devoted to Christ and seeking to sustain that devotedness is the heart that is used of Him.
This may well encourage the young. Sin is a dreadful master. Christ is worthy of our all. He died for us; He seeks our trust, our confidence, our love. He says, “Who will go for us?” He could send an angel; He would rather have you and me.
J. W. Smith
Flee Youthful Lusts
The instruction to separate from evil is followed by the equally important injunction, “Flee also youthful lusts” (2 Tim. 2:22). Having separated from the corruptions of Christendom, we are to beware lest we fall into the corruptions of nature. “Youthful lusts” would not only allude to the grosser desires of the flesh, but also to all those things which fallen nature desires with the thoughtless impetuosity and self-will of youth. Never are we in greater danger of acting in the flesh than when we have acted in faithfulness to the Lord. Another has said, “We may be beguiled into moral relaxation through satisfaction in our ecclesiastical separation.” How seasonable then is this exhortation to “Flee also youthful lusts,” following, the injunction to withdraw from iniquity and separate from vessels to dishonor.
H. Smith
Only One Life
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one:
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in “that day” my Lord to meet,
And stand before His judgment seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still, small voice
Gently pleads for a better choice,
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me, Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy Word to keep;
Faithful and true whate’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say, “Twas worth it all”;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past;
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
C. T. Studd