Before It's Too Late

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them" --Ecclesiastes 11:1

Because children are so impressionable, it is important that their early influences are the right ones at the appropriate times. Had I not been exposed to church and the practices of faith from an early age, I'm quite certain that my life as an adult would have been dramatically different from the way it is. By becoming firmly rooted in God-centered belief from a young age, the likelihood of straying from that faith in later years is diminished.

I have talked with several people who, after rejecting religion or church for a period of time, eventually return to the faith because they realize that what they were taught as a child may not be such an oppressive thing after all. It has been my experience that young people, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 25, are so eager to be independent that they essentially walk away from anything that even remotely reminds them of parental authority.

Even if we wander away from a relationship with God for a time, we can always return. Moreover, it is in our best interest to do so before our time on earth is expired and we find ourselves in God's presence. Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes, which were written toward the end of his life, admonish us to remember our Creator while we are young. As Solomon's lifestyle in his later years proved, the world has many things to offer, but pursuit of worldly things is utterly meaningless. The one thing worth holding onto is faith in the Creator of the universe. God is very real and we all need to acknowledge His sovereign authority before it is too late.