Remember Now Your Creator

""Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ""I have no pleasure in them""""(Eccl. 12:1)

You're only young once, right? That usually is the statement made before somebody does something they'll regret for the rest of their lives. And while it may seem like a perfectly valid reason for doing something rash, Solomon forces us to take a more serious look at that statement. Yes, we are only young once. That is exactly why Solomon tells us to seek God now.

It is while we are young that we are building the foundations that will last throughout our lives. Not only are we developing the habits that will stay with us when we get older, but we are also making the decisions that will directly affect us in the years to come. Who our friends are, who we marry, the places we go, etc. will all affect our future. And if God isn't behind the decisions we make now, it could make it much more difficult to serve Him later. We can all recall many things that we regret doing. However, imagine how horrible you will feel if you look back on your life after you are older and regret the majority of things you have done. When you think about it, a lifetime of regret can't be worth forsaking God while we are young. The time to follow God is now. If we are serious about God now, the chances are we'll be serious about God when we are older. But if we don't put God first in our lives now, what makes us think that will change later? Instead, it will get harder and harder as the years go by.

Not only will we spare our lives from such regret if we follow God now, but we will also prepare our lives to serve God and our fellow brethren. Many of the qualifications for elders, deacons, and their wives are traits that are developed from an early age. For example, Paul tells Titus to ""?exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility"" (Tit. 2:6-7). If a young man truly follows these teachings, how much more ready will he be when he desires the work of an elder or deacon later in life.

In addition, we need to be reminded to seek God while we are young is because it's extremely easy for us to forget our own mortality. Time generally appears to be on our side. Death seems so distant and unthinkable. Even so, we can't let these things make us lose sight of our dependence on God.

After all, Solomon also states that ""it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart"" (Eccl. 7:2). My idea of a good time isn't going to a funeral and I seriously doubt yours is either. But much good can come from realizing the frailty of our physical lives. Especially at a time when our lives don't seem that frail. It reminds us that it is God who is in control. We may choose to keep ignoring Him and pushing Him to the back of our minds, but it will catch up with us one day. ""For we must all appear before the judgement 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).

Finally, you may feel as though you don't have as much to offer God now as you will when you grow older, but the Bible teaches something entirely different. David, a man after God's own heart, is the perfect example of someone who remembered his Creator in the days of his youth. While he was just a boy he showed more faith than most men by confronting and defeating Goliath. Timothy is another good example of a young person who followed God. In fact, Paul told him to let no one despise his youth. So we know Timothy's age was not a factor in his ability to serve God, and we shouldn't let it be a factor in ours either. In fact there are some opportunities we have while we're young that we won't have later in life. We have the ability now to influence our generation to do what's right before they get set in their ways. Before they get more used to this world and less interested in God.

In conclusion, I can't imagine being young without God. With all of the pressures and sin in the world today He is the only constant that we can always rely on. And unlike other choices you make in life, the choice to follow God now is one you will never regret.