What has turned out as a question and wonder "Youth vs. Young Adult", has become a journal of remembering our Creator from youth.
I've always wondered about the word "YOUTH".
Gen. 8:21 - "for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth"
..........(we are evil since birth, as flesh and blood of Adam and Eve, our first parents, the first sinners)
1 Sam 17 - concerning David, "for he was but a youth"
Lev 13; Num 30 - concerning a woman, "as in her youth"
..........(literally a young man and young woman, young adults, not children; Remembering "Do Hard Things" by The Harris Twin Brothers)
Job 33:25 - "let him return to the days of his youthful vigor"
..........(strong, active, alert, fresh....idealistic)
Ps 25:7 - "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions"
..........(the sins of past)
Eccl 4:13 - "Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice."
..........(pure and unadulterated)
Eccl 12:1 - "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them' "
..........(remembering purity before the pureness becomes flawed and dirtied by the evils of the world)
Ez 16:60 - "yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant."
..........(God's covenant from youth)
Mark 10:20 - Concerning the Rich Young Man, "And he said to him, 'Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.' "
..........(Keeping of God's commandments from youth)
Acts 26:4 - Concerning Saul who was then named Paul, "My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews."
..........(His way of life since youth: obeying the commands of God, being taught of God's Law, and living among the righteous)
1 Tim 4:12 - Concerning Timothy, Paul's spiritual son, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."
2 Tim 2:22 - "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."
Reflection:
1.) Literally, the words "youth" and "young adult" are synonymous.
2.) From birth, as flesh and blood of Adam and Eve, we are sinners and evil in our ways. As youth, we are full of vigor and passions for things we want our way. But as we grow, we know more and more of the things on earth, and the things of earth are evil. Yet if from youth, we are taught of the Way, Truth, and Life, we may find our youthful passions as selfish and rubbish, and the adult world's passion as pure evil. If we are strongly grounded in God's Word from youth, our youthful passions would be changed to passions of the righteousness of God in our lives, God's Holiness, and God' Sovereignty. Let us not be "tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph 4:14) like from the beginnings of our youth, as children, that we know nothing about the world for "when we were children, [we] were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!”' " (Galatians 4:3-6)
We "rather, [be] speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Eph 4:15) "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:13).
Jesus Christ "gave [us] the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Eph 4:11-12).
Let us also rejoice that what we have heard and taught from youth is about life everlasting. Paul said, "Be sure you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you continue to follow what you heard from the beginning, you will stay in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24, NCV). "And this is the promise that [Jesus Christ] made to us—eternal life" (1 John 2:25, ESV).
Let us remember "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:13-17)
As Paul (a teacher and apostle) said, "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word." (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17)
Therefore, not only do we rejoice of this grace and blessing from God, let us "who is learning the teaching of God should share all the good things he has with his teacher." (Gal.6:6, NCV)
Just as Paul, as a teacher and also a spiritual father, said to Timothy, "O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge,' for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Guard what God has trusted to you. Stay away from foolish, useless talk and from the arguments of what is falsely called 'knowledge.' By saying they have that 'knowledge,' some have missed the true faith. Grace be with you." (1 Timothy 6:20-21, ESV & NCV)
3.) We're not done yet. But what about those who have only heard of Jesus Christ in their old age and realized how much their youth was wasted? All I can encourage is "Rejoice for God has given you a new life. 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.' (2 Cor 5:17) Now flee from your past of shame, guilt, and evil, and remember the days when you were still pure, unadulterated, and young, full of vigor, but be vigorous for Christ.
'But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.' (1 Tim 6:11-16)"
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