Remember Your Creator in the Days of Your Youth
In Ecclesiastes 12, the Preacher spoke about remembering our Creator in our youth. The Preacher writes honestly about the vanity and limitations of worldly wisdom. Some of our older members shared what they would like younger men and women know about God, and also left encouragement for them in their walk. In this article, one of our youth and one of our young adults, Rachel Soh and Tabitha Yeong respectively, respond to our questions on:
What do you think it looks like to remember your Creator in your youth?
What lessons have you learnt from Ecclesiastes?
What challenges and temptations do you as a youth face in being God-fearing – and how can we pray for young people?
Rachel Soh
For me, remembering my Creator in my youth looks like putting God first. Or at least trying to! This means remembering that my grades and achievements do not define who I am, and instead what really matters is that I am a loved child of God, and that I am saved by Christ through faith and not by good works. So instead of working for myself, I should work because God has given me the ability to, and I should work to glorify Him. However, if I work hard and I still fail, that’s ok! because God still loves me anyway!
As we read through Ecclesiastes, the emphasis that all is vanity is really sobering as a youth. It is tempting to think we have our whole lives ahead of us. People will also say things like “enjoy your youth while you can”, which makes us think we can just seek fun and pleasure now but we need to remember that while we should enjoy and be grateful for God’s good gifts He has graciously given us, pursuing pleasure is not the ultimate goal. Worshipping other idols are also pointless, because in the end all is vanity and none of our worldly things will follow us to heaven. We may also falsely assume that we have a lot of time left to live, leading us to be tempted to procrastinate turning to Jesus. In reality, life is unpredictable and when we die is out of our control. So we should “just do it” and turn to Christ today!
One of the biggest challenges I face is the fear of man, which makes me tempted to give in to peer pressure. Because we live in a meritocratic society, the pursuit of academic excellence is heavily idolised by some of my peers, which makes it hard to keep my eyes on God at times. Another big problem is gossip culture, which does not obey God’s commandment to love our neighbours. Some of my friends use gossip as a way to bond or make new friends, which makes me inclined to join in or passively listen (which is not any better). I think especially as youth, we are in the stage of developing our identities right now and so it is a challenge to keep our identity rooted in Christ and being a child of God.
So I think what young people need right now is a strong Christ-centred community. The people we surround ourselves with are the ones that shape us and our thoughts and actions, so it is important to surround ourselves with other God-fearing people, to point us towards Christ as well as be an encouragement to see that there are others trying to grow in the faith as well.
Tabitha Yeong
To remember my Creator is to rejoice in Christ by being thankful for the lot He provides, finding contentment in knowing and trusting in Christ. This involves following and trusting in Christ wholeheartedly. While there may be many unknowns ahead of me, I can place my trust in Christ’s sovereignty and know that He will provide for my every need.
Ecclesiastes has taught me that while life may be filled with toil and all is vanity, we can enjoy responsibly all that God has given us in the present while still placing our hope in Christ’s second coming. It can sometimes be tempting for me to slip into a state of anxiety but Ecclesiastes has been a good reminder that God is sovereign over my life and many things beyond my control. I can also trust in God’s sovereignty and not fear for what comes ahead of me.
As a young adult, it can be tempting to find satisfaction in the pleasures of this world, pray that we will be disciplined to hold fast against temptations and to be faithful in reading Scripture and letting Scripture take root in our hearts and shape our lives.
Caring for the young people in our church
Rachel and Tabitha have offered us a glimpse of some of the challenges and struggles that the younger people in our church have. Indeed for those among us who are younger, there is a temptation to think that they have an entire life ahead of them, and they are in control of it. Yet, Ecclesiastes reminds us that all is vanity and we do not, ultimately, have control over our lives. Ecclesiastes also challenges us to look beyond the present grind and consider spiritual, eternal matters. Whether young or old, we are called to live God-fearing lives.
Do you know a younger person in church? Consider asking them how they struggle with living under this Creator’s rule and reign, and find ways to encourage them to look beyond this world and its temptations.
Are you a younger person? Get to know those who are older and more mature in the faith. Hearing their struggles or how they have struggled and are trusting God can also encourage you to press on.
Collectively as a church, whether young or old, may be be able to heartily affirm the words of this hymn:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust him more!