Day 14                                       To Young Men  (and women)                                    1 John 2:13,14

13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

         The blessings and problems of young men come from the same place,  their strength.  Their strength helps them to overcome the wicked one.  Their strength also keeps them from relying on the Lord. 

         Young men have some benefits that the children do not have.  They have grown,  they have matured.  They have fully developed abilities.  But they do not possess all that the fathers possess.  They have not yet learned from experience their limitations.  No matter how much they develop and gain strength,  they will also have limitations that are placed on them by God.  We read, 

Romans 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

         This is a verse for young men and young women.  Though they are fully capable of learning anything,  and though they are fully capable of making their own decisions,  they must learn that they have a “measure of faith,”  but not all faith.  They are not able to do all that God wants them to do apart from God’s strength.  They are not able to do all that they want to do.  They can have a home,  a marriage,  a family,  but the Bible points out,  “except the Lord build the house,  they labor in vain that build it.”  God has placed limitations on man so that man would learn to lean upon the creator who desires to strengthen him.  Man falls many times before he finally learns where his true strength comes from.  The sooner we learn that lesson,  the better our lives will be.  Some of the choices that we make without God,  affect and change our entire lives.  We would be much better off if we would learn to accept God’s wisdom and strength for each of our daily choices and decisions. 

         It is exciting to watch our children grow and learn to overcome obstacles.  We enjoy seeing their talents develop.  As fathers and mothers we continually pray for them as they grow into young men and women, that they will also learn to give back all of their talents to God and trust Him to use them for His glory.