Nowadays many of the youth are thinking that preaching the Gospel is just only the job for adults as Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 1:6, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” Yet, note what God said in the following verse. “But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a youth”; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak’” (Jeremiah 1:7 ESV). According to this verse, we are not to say, “I am just a youth. I do not know much about God. So how could I preach these deep words to others? Even I myself do not understand very well.”
After noticing the above sentence, there are some questions we should consider. These are: “Do we know God?” “Do we know that He loves us?” “Do we know Jesus Christ?” “Do we know what He has done for us?” Our answer will be, “Yes, I do.” So then, why don’t we help others who do not know God to know God, His love, His son Jesus Christ and what Jesus has done for us? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). We all are familiar with this verse, and some can recite it very well. However, have we ever considered the meaning of this verse with all of our hearts and minds? When our English teacher asked us to write an essay entitled, “My Best Friend,” we all wrote about the friend we love most. Meanwhile, have you ever talked about Jesus to your best friend? That is the first and best place where we can start sharing about Jesus to others.
Many of the youth from nowadays misunderstand Ecclesiastes 11:9 by reading only the first two sentences, which read, “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.” After reading these two sentences, we used to say Solomon said to do whatever you want, go wherever you would like to go. Instead, we should read the next sentence, “But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” We should know that God will judge us according to what we have done in our lives.
In Mark 16:15 our Lord Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” He did not talk about who can proclaim and who cannot. He just taught us to proclaim. It does not matter whether we are a youth or an adult. We all have the responsibility to preach the Gospel to the whole world.
As youths, we each have our own dream. Some youths used to say that after accomplishing their dreams they will serve God. Here we have another thing to consider. Do we know when our lives will end? Are we sure that we will see the next new day? “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). “Remember that my life is a breath” (Job 7:7). “For my days pass away like smoke” (Psalms 102:3). Our lives are so short; we have no guarantee of tomorrow. The present is the best time to seek God and serve for him (2 Corinthians 6:2). Never say “I will do so later.” So, let us try to use our precious time as young people by sacrificing for God and His kingdom.
