YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

“…whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

James 4:14-16

The world of young adults today differs significantly from when I was young, particularly regarding technology. Could it be that America’s affluence has hindered the desire of young people to read? Why would they want to read books when they have small devices more powerful than the computer that sent a man to the moon? Or have we fallen short of giving young adults Good stories to read that glorify God?

I remember going to DisneyWorld with one of my daughters and a friend years ago, and we got into a discussion. My friend said something that caught me off guard. “Why talk about the end times with our kids? Let them live their life, get married, and have a family. They don’t want to think about the world coming to an end or the Lord’s return.”

I didn’t respond well to him then because I struggled with that same mindset when I was newly married. My husband was in his second year of medical school. We were watching an HBO pseudo-documentary based on an end-time scenario influenced by the writings of Nostradamus (not the Bible).

While there might be a degree of uncanny accuracy in what writers of that ilk say, they will never be a hundred percent accurate. Anyone who predicts anything that is not one hundred percent accurate is not a prophet of God. Occultists like Nostradamus rely on demonic powers to make predictions, and the Bible tells us not to listen to them. (I didn’t know any better at that time).

But I digress. That’s not the point I want to make. As I sat and watched the HBO special with my then-husband, I admitted, much to my chagrin that I don’t want Christ to return now. Not after all this work. I want to have children, buy a big house, and enjoy the fruits of what we’ve labored for.

That work was arduous labor as a court reporter. I worked long hours in a small town that didn’t think women should make more than minimum wage.

I wish I knew then what I know now. And it is this: We long for the things of this world because we have no idea what better things God has in store for us in the next.

As the years pass, we fill our hearts with material things. We get married, and our husbands commit adultery. We raise children who rebel against us. Young people turn from the Lord and go their own way. I know of two Christian families whose sons committed suicide. I know of other Christian families whose children have chosen alternative lifestyles.

We will face adversity sooner or later because we live in the Kingdom of Darkness. The great things we could do for the Kingdom of Heaven take a back seat to live for the here and now. As time passes, sooner or later, we discover that the things of this world that we thought were so great are overvalued and temporary. Whatever that “idol” is that we put before God, it will grow wings and fly away.

However, the struggles of life, in some ways, can be a blessing. Without suffering, we can’t become all God created us to be. He made us for so much more. Pain and suffering allow us to turn something meant for evil into good. If we are teachable, we will see beyond this world into the next. We’ll realize God didn’t create us to live in a fallen world. He created us to live in a perfect one.

Recently, I went to the “Understanding the Times Prophecy Conference” in Minneapolis. As I looked around at the large gathering, I didn’t see a single young person. I expected to see at least a couple, perhaps some homeschooling families. But nada, not one.

My friend, long ago, was correct. Most young people will have many years to live before God calls them home, but Jesus could return tomorrow. Death is only a heartbeat away. I want to encourage young people to know Christ personally and live for Him, not themselves.

I won’t reveal the final scene in the last book of the Seventh Dimension Series, The Howling, but the idea is “to occupy” until Jesus returns. That doesn’t mean young people shouldn’t get an education, get married, and raise a family, but they should learn how to live for God and live well so they have a testimony to share. They should desire to live in a way that brings glory to our Savior.

Living each day for God until He returns or calls us home is a vastly different mindset than I had that day when my then-husband and I watched that apocalyptic HBO pseudo-documentary. I wanted God to let me live the way I wanted. And, in His mercy, He did.

I didn’t realize then that we live in a Kingdom of Darkness, but the life lessons I learned through the suffering I endured weren’t wasted. When we suffer for God, God can redeem that suffering and produce Good Works for His Kingdom now and into eternity.

How can we get teens and young adults to realize how quickly time flies? James 4:14 says our lives are merely a vapor, for a little while and then gone. How do we get young people to seize this day, this hour, and even this moment for Jesus?

I’ve written the Seventh Dimension Series to reach those who, like me, love to read. While it’s a dwindling number of teens, I believe our future leaders of tomorrow are the young people who read today. A person can’t learn all he needs to know to live well only through personal experience.

Reading opens the door to biographies of famous people, traveling to other places, and “tasting” different cultures. For the creative ones, books can take a person to faraway places in time and space, as in the Seventh Dimension Series.

Books can teach the reader about God in ways he is unlikely to learn any other way. That’s one reason God gave us the Bible, which includes sixty-six books written by many authors who lived and died but died anticipating a better future home. Vicariously, a reader can experience so much more; in my opinion, it can be better than a trip to the theme parks.

PRAYER: Help me, Jesus, to stand firm, and when my race is over, to know You used even me. Thank you, Jesus, that You are returning soon.

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