THE YOUTH VOLT, TO BRIDLE OR UNBRIDLE?

There is a higher calling and a heavenly bidding upon our generation today. What will we do about it? Proverbs 20:29 says, "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." NIV

The youth is a well achitectured schematics and an extraordinary framework possessing a volcanic eruption that sets man apart from all other creatures. Even in the different stages of man's short sojourn on earth, the ages between 16 and 50 are considered the most effective, especially in sheer energy, zest and brute intellectual force.

Nations, corporations, civil service framework worldwide, military recruitments as well as the corporate world selects and reinforce their youth stock for maximum fruitfulness. The Sport world is so keen about age.

This is not a modern phenomenon only. In time past, conquering kingdoms carefully select as captives of war the best crop of male and female slaves to put them in places of effective service.

We see that exactly in Daniel 1:3 "Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service." NIV

As soon as the Jewish captives arrived from Jerusalem, there was a plan on ground to harvest the youth. No wonder, our youth today are been harvested by the devil for his own glory.

The night clubs, the sports world, the porn industry, the drug dungeon, the endless beauty peagants, the crime cartel, the ghetto gangs and the defying network of human trafficking rings worldwide are all planned and run by young people.

This is because if you mine the force of the youth of a society, you have the power of the society at your disposal. If God has the loyal and commitment of the youth in a nation, that nation will turn towards God. Those who are 20-30 years today in the population will be 40-50 years old in the next 10-20 years! They will be the intellectual, economic and political force of the nation.

Ecclesiastes 12 is even more emphatic. Today, the pursuit for civilization which may not necessarily be a Christian thing, has taken over Christian themes. Democracy has been brought home and ruined the family. The family is not to be run by democracy.

God apparently believes in harvesting the youth! Let's take a roll call:
Adam called from creation.

Abel called young.

Daniel called at 16

Jeremiah, called at 16

David called at 16

Moses called at 40

Josiah called and all the kings of Israel started their reign as teenagers.

Samuel called from birth

Samuel was just a kid when he heard God's voice

Joseph called at 16 when he had his first dream.

In the New Testament, Joseph and Mary were teenagers.

John the baptist was called from birthday and launched his ministry at 30.

Jesus and His apostles were young men.

Apollos, Timothy and Titus were teenagers.

The church in Jerusalem was launched by young people and the largest percentage of the followers were young. And the list is endless.

There is no doubt God has a thing for young people. They are the backbone of His workforce.

Whether it is a christian family or a personal christian life, it should be run in accordance with the values we have developed through our personal and collective walk with God.

There must be a new crop of youth in the church world today who rediscover the passion of pursuing God's agenda and dethirst themselves from the madness that has crippled the youth of and threatens the future of the Church.

We need to see young weeping before the Lord and asking Him to send them anywhere as it used to be. We need to see parents in the Church praying that God use their kids. We need to see afresh parents urging their young men and women to be involved with ministry and missions.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 12:
«1 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”—
2 before the sun and the light
    and the moon and the stars grow dark,
    and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
    and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those looking through the windows grow dim." NIV

If you are a Christian, are you passionate about Jesus, the mission field and your Christian practice as you are about Science, medicine, architecture, law, politics or money?

If we had a quarter of the boiling thirst that Muslim youths possess worldwide for the wrong reason! If we had even have of their driving force!

Recent happenings around the world show that Islamic madness is taking nations and cultures captive. Between 18 and 35 young Muslim youth are passionate about blowing up themselves, daring mass shootings, slashing the innocent with knives, carry explosives or run over folks with rented or stolen trucks.

Some are killed, some are captured after much havoc is wrought. The amazing thing is usually their biography and timeline of the attack.

We as chrisitians are not called to use our youth to plot and carry out the plot to kill and destroy others. Our calling is to love. Our ministry is compassion even towards those who don't like us.

We need to use the glory of our youth to pursue love, compassion and healing for the world. We need to bring hope and love to the world but pursue this noble task with all our might.

We need give up personal comfort, pursuit for vain glory, and thrust our youth into God's purpose, better Islamic jihadists are doing for the devil.

We need our ourselves and our young people aflame for God again.

Rise up and let us do our Master's bidding!

David Pam McQuel