Making the Most of Your Youth
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.”
Ecclesiastes 12:1
For those who grow up in the church, a major moment in formation occurs (usually in high school and sometimes in college) when faced with the question, “Do I believe that Christianity is true because I was raised in the church?” If we are going to move forward with Christ, then we must become convinced that Christianity really is true. For some, this move is simple and straightforward—a choice of owning it for yourself. Yet, for most, there are some questions that need to be addressed first. Some of these questions are intellectual questions, such as, “Has the New Testament been copied reliably through time?”, “How do we make sense of God and evil?”, and “What good reason do we have to believe that Jesus physically resurrected from the dead?” Some questions press the affections of the heart, such as, “Does lust really lead to ruin?”, “Can I really not be fully satisfied in life with a sufficient income?”, and “If God truly wants me to be happy, shouldn’t I be free to do whatever I want to do with my life?”
The heart and the mind both matter. They are unavoidably essential to who we are. And, though we can talk about them separately, they are constantly working together, mutually influencing and informing one another. So, how can you “remember also your Creator in the days of your youth,” avoiding the ruin of moral relativism, remaining unpersuaded by the pitfalls of philosophical naturalism, and flourishing within the freedom found only in Christ? Here are a few ways.
Lining up your worldview with reality - and owning it
The truth of Christianity is separate and distinct from your beliefs. That you were raised to believe that Christianity is true is not an argument for or against the truthfulness of Christianity—it is simply an explanation of why you happen to believe Christianity to be true. The same applies to everyone and the belief systems that they were raised in, whether agnostic, Islamic, atheist, Jewish, and so on. Yet, there comes a point when you have to decide whether or not you are going to continue as you were, to maintain the beliefs you have or set them aside. The focus is simple - what is reality really like? If we are to pursue truth, then any question is on the table - no matter how simple or complex, easy or challenging. Which worldview best makes sense of reality as we understand it and experience it? Reality is a particular way. Reality does not change itself to fit our beliefs about it. It is our responsibility to acquire beliefs that correspond to the way reality really is. There are some great resources available for you as you attend to the claims and evidence of Christianity.
Minding what you love
If you so desire, you can pick up a new love everyday. I don’t simply mean a person, though you could attempt that (but you seriously shouldn’t). It could be a new tv show to binge, a new video game to play, a new website to search, a new vlog to subscribe to, and so on. You could fill your entire life with new loves. What you love influences what you believe and what you attempt to justify in your life—even if it brings you ruin. You can keep yourself from future addiction, from hopelessness, from emptiness, from wasting your life through its end if you are careful to attend to what you love. While intellectual issues are commonly offered as reasons why people leave Christianity, it is also common that such abandonment is accompanied by a love for a life other than following Christ. What is it that you love? Do you love what God loves? Allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us to properly order our loves is central to our formation into Christlikeness.
Minding what you do
There is no neutral formation. You are always forming—for flourishing or for ruin. If you are a student, the impression that your high school or collegiate experience is a bubble of moral protection where you are unaffected by anything that you do (“because you’re in high school” or “because you’re in college”) is deadly. You do not become a different person when you graduate. You graduate as a formed person with a particular character with dispositions, and perhaps addictions, that you have formed as a result of your actions. Here, practicing spiritual disciplines as a means of practicing the presence of God, particularly studying Scripture, prayer, and fellowship, are essential for your personal formation, and by extension, how you care for the well-being of others around you as you follow Christ.
Be quick to confess
You will not be perfect. May your mistakes be few and of little consequence. Yes, healing is available for you. That is a great thing. And it is necessary that we pursue healing where needed. However, I don’t think God desires your life to be a pattern of repeated failure and healing—in the sense of a disciple more interested in the world than following Christ. Christ wants you to follow Him, finding victory over sin and temptation, becoming more and more like Him in your character. It is specifically slavery to sin that you are to be free of as a disciple of Jesus. When you fail—repent, confess, and find healing. God does not want you to “prove yourself to Him” or “pick yourself first” or in any way “do better before coming to Him.” God wants you immediately. Do not give any more time to avoid Him or not engage with Him. Be quick to confess and seek nearness to God.
No matter what you have been told, you don’t have to get the ruinous desires out of your system by trying them out. There is no pleasure that this world has to offer that will richly satisfy you, that will attend to the deep longings of the soul. Only reconciliation to our Creator—receiving forgiveness, inner renewal, and enjoying fellowship with Him—can satisfy. Make much of your days now, for when the excitement of youth fades in view of the dramatic brokenness of this world, you will not be disappointed—for you were never looking for the world to satisfy you in the first place. Giving the excitement of youth to discipleship unto Christ offers the greatest rewards, not only for the sort of person you become, but also that you do not waste your life. And, of course, you begin to understand by experience what Christ meant when He claimed that He came that we may have life to the full.