Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Youth with Christ


Betsy Mathew
Epiphany MTC, NY

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 
 

This story of the rich young man is a familiar one.  He had followed all the rules as a kid and now that he was a successful rich young adult he ran to Jesus to find out what more he could do. The part I never noticed is that Jesus looked at him and LOVED him…. And THEN Jesus asked him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor.  I think Jesus saw the young man and really loved him and knew what was holding him back – the man’s love for money and all that goes along with it – status, security, power, comfort.  Jesus challenged him to give that up and it was too much for this young man.
I remember when I got my first job and 2 weeks later my first pay check!  When I came home with it excited about what I could do with all that money (which looked like a lot to me at that time) – the first thing my parents said was that there was a tradition to give some to an elder or a teacher and the rest to charity.  “What! Give away my WHOLE pay check! And wait another 2 weeks for another check!”  Looking back its funny how little money I was really suffering over giving away.  But it was probably a good start though to realize that my money was not my own – and that with money came the responsibility to support others and give substantially to God’s work.  
Start things off right! If you’re young- realize that God can do a lot with the little or much that you have right now.  Start giving to what God calls us to.  Don’t wait to give till we have thousands of dollars saved up in our bank account.  Start working for the causes God puts on our heart.  Seek after God’s will for our life like the rich young man did – and when God tells us something – have courage to do it!  If God’s asking us to do something, He’s asking us out of LOVE.
Often when serving God, we feel like we’re doing HIM a favor.  But really, getting involved with what God is doing at a young age is exciting and rewarding! The rich young man chose to keep his riches and his comfortable lifestyle.  The young disciples who gave it all up to follow Jesus – they spent the next 3 years traveling, learning, seeing miracles

PRAYER

Help us Jesus to know that You LOVE us and to have courage to do the things You ask us to do.  Thank You for taking young people along with You to do great things! Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Youth can accomplish magnificent things for the Master’s cause. But do we always recognize this? We must be on the lookout for them and encourage them along the way. God can use them mightily” Wayne Jackson

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