Rejoice, O Young Man

This is a sermon from the much neglected, much misunderstood book of Ecclesiastes. Heaven's voice to young people is to rejoice and fear God. The two things are not mutually exclusive AT ALL. The two go together like hand in glove. The joy recommended in this passage is nutrition, medicine, life, health, and peace. I gave this sermon at our church on my oldest son's last Lord's day with us before he moved to another state to take a job and go forward in his plans to get married in a year or so. He leaves home with our full blessing and this message at his back. He called about a week after arriving at his new residence. I asked him what he had been reading. He said, "Ecclesiastes. After last week's message I'm reading that book." One of the reason's people so stupendously misunderstand Ecclesiastes is because they misinterpret "vanity". "Vanity, vanity all is vanity" says Solomon, which people tend to interpret as being vain, or futile, or meaningless (NIV). What! Childhood and youth are meaningless??? No one can understand Ecclesiastes correctly while holding these definitions. What vanity usually means in Ecclesiastes is NON-ENDURING. Childhood and youth are non-enduring and therefore do not throw them away as many do by failing to reverence with awe our sovereign creator who with inscrutable providence so wondrously reigns. "Remember NOW your creator in the days of your (NON-ENDURING) youth...before the days come when PLEASURE IS INCREASINGLY IMPOSSIBLE--DUE TO OLD AGE." The mind of God for young people is to rejoice in manifold pleasures in the reverent awe of God. Have your tried this approach to life yet?