Choose Joy!
June 9, 2002
Youth
Sunday
Max Schmidt, Guest Preacher
Montgomery
United Methodist Church
Ecclesiastes 11:8- 12:1
Matthew 18: 1-5
Our guest preacher this past Sunday was Max Schmidt, a high school student and member of our congregation. Max attained the rank of Eagle Scout on Saturday, June 8. Max and Bobby Blakemore, also a member of our congregation, received the "God and Life Award" at Sunday's service of worship. Congratulations!
Good Morning everyone! As many of you know, this is Youth Sunday, so it seems fitting that my message to you all today is youth. You know, I’ve found a fountain of it. Through the teachings of the Bible and Jesus, not only have we been blessed with eternal life, but we are admonished to keep with us always the fundamental things which make us children. The Old Testament tells us to be happy with what we have when we have it, to remember that everything we can ever have is on loan to us from God, and to be happy in our youths and forever. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us how to carry this out. God wants us to always maintain those childlike qualities, for only then can we truly accept Him and His word into our hearts.
We must always be able to be satisfied with what we have. I’m not saying that we should not work to attain more, but we need to be able to be satisfied with where we are now. I was recently reading the Dune series by Frank Herbert. And in the second book, Dune Messiah, there is a quote that I find highly inspiring. Paul, the protagonist of the story, is discussing the future with his love, Chani. She complains that where he has eternity, she has only now. He cuts her off, saying, “This is eternity”. We need to be happy in all of our moments, because each one builds our eternity. Don’t bother with the temporal. If we could all be happy with what God has already blessed us with, would there be any problems in the world? First, in our day-to-day lives we would be more pleasant, no more bickering and arguing. All of this pleasantness would work its way on up through all facets of society. There would be little if any robbery or murder, and there would be no need for war. In the Middle East today, for example, I feel that if both sides could count their blessings, be happy for what they have, then it seems that they would all be a bit more peaceful and willing to cooperate. There are unfortunately so many instances in which this is true. For this reason, I believe that it is part of our duty as Christians to be happy with what we have. To work for more. But to be happy right now.
In being happy, it helps (me, at least) to remember that everything that can ever come, including pain, is temporary. Rejoice in your good times, because they are the Lord’s blessing. Remember, though, that the good may not last forever and that one day the bad may come. The unpleasantness though is also temporary. It will end, and you will still be there. If you maintain this hope, you can overcome any time of need, because you will know in your heart that one day soon, things will be better. I liken it to a piece of music. Music is designed to elicit feelings, including sadness. When you hear a sad piece, you can appreciate it for the emotion it brings out. It helps to complete your emotional experience. Remember this in your life: that sadness is temporary and it makes you a whole person, just as sadness makes a musical composition whole. The only truly permanent thing in your life is God, and you can always rest assured knowing that He is your anchor, and that He will keep you moored safely through the storm.
So be happy in your youth. If you can’t be happy with your young life, then you may find it harder to maintain a young spirit farther on down the road. Things will only get harder and more complex, so enjoy it now. Some of you out there may be wondering if you’re too old to rejoice in your youth, but not so. You are always younger than you will be in the future, so be happy now, because it’s still your youth. But then I’m still wondering if I’ll ever grow up and look back on youth.
In the New Testament, Jesus says that only those who maintain their youth may enter the kingdom of heaven. He also mentions several specific traits of youth that we must maintain. These include love, happiness and humility. Children’s hearts are full of love, love for everything. If we could all keep this unconditional love for life, there would, of course, be no room for hate and violence in our hearts. If we would all be happy, then we would not envy, and there would be no unpleasantness. If we would all be more humble, then no one would feel that they were better than anyone else, and we would have no more jerks. Therefore it is our Christian duty to maintain these traits, so that we can live by God’s commandments.
By keeping a child’s outlook on life, we can make the world a better place. To a child, anything is possible. I often wonder what would happen if the whole world were run by highly intelligent children. In a world run by children: Priorities don’t need to be juggled, one thing need not suffer because of a lack of funds, people don’t need to fight to settle differences, and most importantly: mandatory nap time every day. We could live in a very hopeful, peaceful world if everyone were more childlike. Over my years in various governmental clubs, I’ve gathered a lot of material on what youth would do if they ran the world. Here’s just some of what I’ve got. Some of the things we would have:
You see, youth want to make the world a better place. Sure we’re overly optimistic, but that is what we all need. We can all work together for a peaceful and free world. Which is, overall, what God wants.
God wants us to be his children, and he especially wants us to be like children. If we can all act like the six year olds we are at heart, we can lead Christian lives and be with God. Thank you so much for your attention. May God bless you all. Amen.