“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when  thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl. 12:1).  Solomon explains that earthlife is brief and fragile, and it is void of all meaning and purpose without God.   God has given us “words of truth” to serve as “goads,” urging us in the right direction, and as “nails,” giving us stability and security.  Solomon sums up his survey of life’s meaning in these words:  “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God, and keep his commandments:  for this is the whole duty of man” (12:1-14). 
       
To lay a good foundation in life, young people must remember God not as a mere word but as the most important reality in our lives.  God made us for fellowship with Himself.  Life’s true meaning and purpose are found in that relationship.   Without that fellowship, our existence is cruel, cold, and barren--it is empty, void, and vain.  To truly remember God is to “fear” Him, which means to love, honor, and respect Him above all things.  To truly remember God is to “keep his commandments” regarding all things.  
       
Jesus said two great pillars undergird all of God’s commandments.  These same pillars undergird the true meaning of life.  “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:36-40).  Every form of sin violates the love of God, or the love of our neighbor, or both.  Every act of obedience to God’s law expresses, demonstrates, and strengthens our love for God and for our neighbor.  This is why we must remember God by seeking to obey Him in all things from the days of our youth. 
       
God structured our lives under His authority and law in such a way that our choices have consequences.   “The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always.”  God grants His promised blessings and tender mercies “to a thousand generations” among those who “keep his commandments.”  Just as surely, He “repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them” (Deut. 6:24-25; 7:9-11). 
 
We understand these principles as they apply to physical life.  The laws of God in the natural order bless us in many ways.  If the sun were slightly closer to the earth, we would burn up.  If the moon were closer, we would freeze.  God blesses us through the gift of food and the law of gravity.  If we defy God’s natural order by refusing to eat or jumping off a cliff, we bring destruction upon ourselves.  
       
These principles are just as true in the moral and spiritual realm!  God’s moral and spiritual instructions bring blessings in a thousand ways.  To defy His instructions is to embrace a thousand miseries.  Many benefits come to those who respect God’s order in family life.  God ordained marriage as one man for one woman for life, and reserved sex for marriage (Gen. 2:24; Heb. 13:4).  Divorce and marriage to a new mate are permitted only to the innocent party when a mate commits fornication (Matt. 19:9).  Respect for civil government as God’s ordinance brings many benefits (Rom. 13:1-7).  “All spiritual blessings” come to those who honor God’s teaching on salvation in Christ and his church (Eph. 1:3, 22-23).   Destruction awaits those who defy God’s order for the home, the government, or the church. 
       
To truly remember God is to worship Him as our Creator and Sustainer.  “Know ye that the Lord he is God:  it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps. 100:3).   The theory that the universe, life, and man evolved denies God’s Word, undermining true worship of God.  God is not honored when we put school, sports, and similar activities before worship (Heb. 10:25-27).  God will not accept our worship if we live in sin.  First, we must believe in His Son, repent of our sins, confess Christ, and be baptized in water, “calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).  Then, we begin a new life and remember God in all things.

 

Ron Halbrook