FOREVER YOUNG

Psalms 85:8

Show us, LORD, your kindness; grant us your salvation.

This year the theme of World Youth Day is, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.”(Acts 1:8). This passage occurs just before Jesus ascends to the Father. It represents the birth of the Church, and in this case, carries a message of rebirth and renewal to the youth of the world.

World Youth Day continues the tradition that has attracted millions of participants to the biggest celebration of young people on earth. Youth is a creation from God. God made us all as infants first, then as children–all knees and elbows during those confusing junior high years. He made us with hearts that fell in love in an instant when that captivating special someone we like so much as looked at us. He made us to disappear into make-believe worlds. He gave us days where every tree was meant for climbing and every knee was made for scrapes. He gave us youth…lots of it.

As Jesus had said, “I tell you with certainty, unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven”. Our God is all-mercy and all-kind, but he wants us to retain our childlike character – humility, full of hope and forever faithful in Him.

All of life is out of Him, all of life now exists through Him, and all of life will return to Him as the object of eternal glory. And every youth who sits in our churches shall glorify God forever - either in their salvation or in their condemnation. Therefore, we must confront our young people with the reality, centrality, and glory of God early and often so that they might find Him to be the sole object of their hearts’ affections. May God be pleased to use us in His gracious work of saving young people for His eternal glory.

Almighty Father, we ask You to bless us, keep us in Your love. Lord, give us hearts that are open, hearts that are humble and gentle, so that we may welcome those you send, with tenderness and compassion. And through the hands of your little ones, we ask you to bless us. No matter how strong the forces of death, we know we can find endless life in You. Renew that life in each of us, and make us worthy apostles of life in our day! Amen +

Restore us, O God our savior, and abandon your displeasure against us.