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Before I elaborate on this theme, I would first like to tell a little story a preacher told me few days back...
In 1996, I was invited to preach at a professor's daughter's wedding. You can imagine the cream of the society, professors, doctors, businessmen and women, high ranking government officials etc. Men and women who have made their mark in the world.
As I brought the word of life to the young couple, who were just starting their journey into marriage, I set forth principle after principle of how God designed the home to work. God enabled me to bring out the message with clear instructions and illustrations.
After the service, two people came to me, one after the other. The first man, quite elderly, looked at me adjusted his spectacles and said; " young man I wish I met you in 1956. If I had met you forty-two years ago and heard what you are preaching now, I would not have been what I am today. What can I do now? I have spoilt my life, I have wasted my marriage and I don't even know where to begin again. I wish I had met you then".
"Where were you when I just married". He added rhetorically.
I did not answer, I could not. I knew he was not expecting an answer from me. As I stood there looking at an old man shedding tears, I also wished I had met him then!
The second person was the wife of one of the university professors, she walked up to me, looked at me with eyes full of regret and said; " well, I thank you for all you have said. For me it is too late but I am going to buy the tapes for my daughter so that she will not go the way I went ".
All through the day, I could not get their words out of my head. So, a man can hear the word of God too late! So, wrong choices made early in life may never be correctable again later on in life! I suddenly realized the great privilege of being young again I realized the prime value of being a youth. It became clear that there are things that must happen to me as a youth if I will not live my adult years in regret.
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THE PRIME TIME
The time of youth is the prime time in anyone's life. It is a great privilege to be young. Many old people do envy the young. They wish they could return to being young again, and that is why they try to do whatever they can to look young. Unfortunately, being young comes only once in a lifetime. No one can be young more than once.
However, THE TIME OF THE YOUTH IS A TIME OF MAKING CHOICES. And the choices at this prime time of life are such that make indelible marks on one's life and destiny.
There is a battle going on in this world concerning the young people and it is all about influencing their choices.
"Choices that will mark your life out for greatness and glory are made when you are young"
If you meet an accomplished old man, prosperous and celebrated, enjoying the care of his equally successful children, it did not just happen somewhere in his old age. It is the product of the series of wise choices he made while in his teens and twenties.
"On the other hand, choices that will predispose you to perpetual defeat and failure are also made when you are young"
If you see an old woman whose marriage has scattered and she is being pushed between one man and another, it is not likely to be due to choices she made when she has become old. She laid the foundation to be that kind of woman when she was young! The unfortunate thing about these choices is that whether they were made consciously or unconsciously, they are often irreversible.
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The time of the youth is not only the time for making choices;
IT IS THE TIME FOR LAYING FOUNDATION FOR EVERY ASPECT OF FUTURE LIFE :- it is at this time that you lay the foundation for your career in life, your marriage and your destiny. In fact, everything that you will become in life is being founded now in the time of your youth.
IT IS A TIME OF TREMENDOUS STRENGTH AND ENERGY, A TIME OF FRESHNESS :- it is the time all your nerves and instincts are seeking the strongest expression. The direction you 'plough' them, now that you are young, determines the destination you will 'reap' in the years ahead. This time of your youth is a very crucial time that determines what happens for the rest of your life.
THE TIME OF ONE'S YOUTH IS ALSO THE TIME OF WARFARE :- this is the time you pitch your tent on whichever side you choose in the battle of life. And you either choose God or Satan. It is in this period of your life when you are called 'the youth' that you make that choice.
God is out mercifully looking for you, so that you will make him your choice; but the devil is also fighting hard, to make sure he has you on his side. That is why the counsel of the word of God to anyone who is a youth is;
"So remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, " I have no pleasure in them"; (Eccl.12:1)
If you overcome this battle now that you are young and make the Lord your choice, you will always overcome in every sphere of your life. I urge you, make a wise choice and live to testify of His goodness upon your life to your children, your grandchildren, and even your great grand children. Pray to God right now and commit your life and future to HIM.
So the challenge is yours today. The choice is yours also.
"WHAT IS YOUR DECISION?"
