What a blessed statement of Obadiah’s! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and if we know Him as our Saviour, and start with true wisdom (the fear of the Lord), our path will be a happy one in serving Him.
We call to mind what a dear old brother, who is now with the Lord, said, when addressing a number of young Christians,
“You, dear young people, in all the freshness and bloom of youth, remind me of a very beautiful bouquet of flowers. Suppose you desire to present to a dear friend of yours a very beautiful bouquet. You purchase it, and it is so beautiful that you wish to keep it for yourself the first day. The second day you admire it so much that you still keep it; but the third day you notice it is beginning to wither, and you hasten to give the faded bouquet to your friend.
“Do not treat the Lord in this way. Give yourselves to Him while in your vigor and strength. Serve Him with your whole heart. Remember what He has done for you.”
O! how little do Christian young men and women appreciate the blessing of giving God their youth—their best days, the strongest and heartiest time of their short life!
“In thy youth,” dear reader, give yourself to God for His service and honor. “In thy youth,” be out and out for Christ, a good soldier for Him. Say not in your heart,
“Why should I not delight myself in the world and its joys, as do others?” for Jesus, the Son of God beckons you to a nobler life; He calls you to self-sacrifice and devotion, in which you shall have joys beyond all that this poor world ever gave to its servants.
Dear young Christians, the truly happy life is that which is given to the Lord. There are more joys found in His service than in all the pleasures of the world, and we appeal to you, now in your youth, to devote yourselves to Him.