I once had the privilege of speaking at the chapel service of our local Tri-County Christian school. Trust me when I tell you that wasn’t an easy assignment. If you doubt me, you try coming up with something that will keep the attention of young people whose ages range from K-12.

I began by having us all read Matthew 26:36-44 together, and then I spoke on the subject of surrendering yourself completely to God’s will. For a focal point of emphasis, I talked about the “nevertheless” way of living. That concept comes from Christ’s garden of Gethsemane prayer: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” I really don’t know if my sermon made much of an impact on those young folks, but if even one of them got hold of the “nevertheless” concept, I accomplished a lot that morning.

After I left the school that day, I found myself thinking about Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’” As I reflected back upon the days of my own youth, I had to admit that even though I had remembered my Creator to some degree, my track record in that department had been a few billion miles from perfect. My prayer for those kids of Tri-County Christian school was that their efforts at serving the Lord during their younger days would far outdo anything previous generations had done.

The truth is, however, that much of what kids do or don’t do will always depend upon what kind of mentoring and guidance they receive from adults. That’s why us adults must never stop remembering our Creator, no matter how old we get. For one thing, God desires the obedience. For another, we need the blessings that come from such obedience. And for yet another, our young people need the role models. You see, it’s a win-win-win situation. So, adult, I ask you: What kind of a role model are you? That’s a good question to ask yourself right now, no matter what season of adulthood you currently find yourself.