What if I told you that you could make an eternal impact during the young years of your life? What if I told you that there’s another way to live besides what you see on Instagram and TikTok? What if we actually utilized our youth to advance the Kingdom of God and not glorify ourselves and our bodies- just how different would our generation be? Is our generation capable of living out our responsibility to continue making disciples? I believe the answer is yes to all of the above.
“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
Oftentimes we are excused from our actions because of our youth. I’m sure you’ve heard things such as, “Oh! You’re in college?! Go party it up while you’re young! These are the best years of your life, kid!” And if you’re in college like me, you see this being lived out all around you every day. This type of mindset renders drunkenness, sexual immorality and leads to a poor example that hinders us from how the Lord desires us to live in our youth. How do we know this? Firstly, we see it everywhere and the numbness, apathy, and unhappiness it produces. Secondly, this lifestyle promotes the exact opposite of what God’s Word says, which is Truth. Do we, as followers of Jesus, judge and condemn those who have chosen to live their lives this way? 1 Samuel 16 verse 17 says that “the LORD looks at the heart” and does not look at the same things man does. It is not our responsibility to judge others but it IS our responsibility to love others well and to become more like Christ each day by choosing to walk down a different path than what the world presents to us.
“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and only our job to love.” - Billy Graham
Being young in this day and age is extremely different from what any other generation has grown up in before. Today’s generation is the first to have wireless phones, at-home internet, and social media from infant years– and even some from birth. No wonder there is so much confusion amongst the younger generations all over the world. These are new waters that we are all navigating. We have every question, opinion, image and app available to us on social media at any moment, and the ability to talk to people anywhere in the world all from a device that fits in our back pocket. How are we supposed to live differently than the world and all that is surrounding us? One way we can acquire some wisdom on this is to humbly look at the generations who have gone before us and who have served the Lord faithfully. Although their circumstances might have been different in terms of technology, I can guarantee you that we can still relate to them in so many ways. It is foolish to disregard our elders because they have so much wisdom to share with us. Let's take a look at a passage in 1 Chronicles 28 where we see a father who is bestowing wisdom on his son, preparing him and guiding him to lead his kingdom. Here we have David and his son Solomon. David is often referred to as “a man after God’s own heart,” and his obedience to the Lord is recognized throughout the Bible. His lineage is the one that God ordained his son, Jesus, to be born from; how crazy is that! I believe there is a lot that we can get from this passage.
Firstly, David had it set in his heart to build the house for the Lord which would be the final resting place for the Ark of the Covenant (read more about The Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25). David has made plans to build the temple, he’s gotten his hopes up about bringing this desire of his to fruition and he’s spent countless hours thinking about every detail, where to get the supplies, how much it would cost– the whole shabang. Then in verse three he says, “But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’” How heartbreaking must this have been for David?! He had something that he strongly desired to complete and God told him no. How does he react? David doesn’t blow up or become passive with the Lord; instead he continues to listen to Him. “He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.” (v. 6-7) What God requires of David in this moment is to pass down his throne and kingdom to his young son and what he tells Solomon is what I really want to focus on. David says, “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” (v. 9-10) (NIV)
What a blessing it is that God has given us the authority to speak truth and wisdom over the next generation and generations to come forever and ever. David paints a picture of discipleship and I think it’s very important to note that he is not speaking down to Solomon in these verses. It is so easy to take on a spirit of offense when you are given advice or wisdom that you have not obtained yet from someone older who is further along in their walk of faith but a spirit of offense can lead to a hardened heart and you will simply miss the character of God that is being shown in that moment. This is a father looking out for his son, not degrading him in his youth; David is giving Solomon pointers on how to start his reign as king and how to do it well. He encourages his son to be wholeheartedly devoted, to have a willing mind, to seek Him, to be strong, and to put in the work that is essential to see the temple to completion. What is so good about this is that Solomon was only twenty years old when David gave him the kingdom. And not only did David entrust him with the kingdom, so did the Lord. David gifted his son the wisdom that the Lord had taught him through trials and tribulations. He knew what it was like to be young and he had experienced the challenges that life throws at you in those seasons. And if the Lord entrusted Solomon and asked of him all of the terms that David speaks of, what makes us think that you and I are unqualified to live out all of these things as well? Are we not also called to be wholeheartedly devoted, to have a willing mind, to seek Him, to be strong, and to put in the work that is essential to see the temple to completion– the temple that is building the Kingdom of God? What time do we have to waste on earthly things when we have been given a mission from the King of kings and the Lord of lords! Keep eternity in view, for the time is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord (Phil. 2). Consider your ways and what your flesh is drawing you towards. Run the race that the Lord has set before you with excellence and endurance (Heb. 12). Go tell others about Jesus and live in Godly confidence because you know the One you made you and was there for you when it seemed like no else was. Seek out and listen to your elders and acquire their wisdom. Don’t waste your youth on perishable things when you could be doing Kingdom work. Just like He used Solomon –and even David– in his youth, Jesus wants to use you no matter what season or age of life you’re in.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
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