“The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory.”1

As a final legacy before His ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ gave the great commission to His people. With that monumental declaration, the church was instituted in this sinful world to labor for the conversion of souls. The church has been mandated to share the everlasting gospel with every human being. Time, talents, and resources are entrusted to us—all with this purpose as their supreme aim.

Looking upon the disastrous condition of our world, as the church of Christ, we should seriously ask ourselves questions like: “Are there not many things still for us to do for Christ? Is there not a great responsibility we have somehow overlooked? Have we not made a covenant with Jesus that is yet unfulfilled on our part?”

We hide behind excuses, but the problem is not Communism, neither Romanism, neither Liberalism, nor Modernism. The problem is dormant Christianity! Does what I’m doing really matter for eternity? Does it really advance the cause of Christ? If not, no matter what we choose to do, it amounts to nothing. Someone once observed that God does not intend for the church to be a refrigerator where piety is to be kept from rotting; rather, it is to be an incubator that should give birth to new converts.

“One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells more in behalf of Christianity than all the sermons that can be preached. Such a family gives evidence that the parents have been successful in following God’s directions, and that their children will serve Him in the church. Their influence grows; for as they impart, they receive to impart again. The father and mother find helpers in their children, who give to others the instruction received in the home. The neighborhood in which they live is helped, for in it they have become enriched for time and for eternity.”2

“[God] desires to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large company of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes, have surrendered their hearts to Him, and go forth to give Him the highest service of their lives.”3

The apostle declares, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4).

God has blessed us with little children. Why were they given to us? To be raised for Him. What is our responsibility? The Bible tells us: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

“The management and instruction of children is the noblest missionary work that any man or woman can undertake. . . .

“We need missionary fervor in our homes, that we may bring the Word of life before the members of our families and lead them to seek a home in the kingdom of God.”4

It is wonderful when parents bring their little one to be blessed and dedicated to God, but this is not sufficient. The next step is vital in order to continue having that blessing—educating the child with the express purpose of having him/her serve Christ for the advancement of His kingdom. Every child is called to become an instrument for the salvation of others. There are two possible directions of service for our children: “Children may be trained for the service of sin or for the service of righteousness.”5

“Give some of your leisure hours to your children; associate with them in their work and in their sports, and win their confidence. Cultivate their friendship.”6

You may be set on giving advice, and every second you may be streaming like a radio, sending out bits of counsel. But instead of giving your child only advice, you should rather give them your heart. Teach your child a lot by talking just a little.

“Every mother should have time to give her children these little endearments which are so essential during infancy and childhood. In this way the mother would bind up the children’s hearts and happiness with her own. She is to them what God is to us.”7

How do we teach our children to serve? By offering them love. Dear parent, a life beautifully lived means lovingly giving yourself to your children and your spouse, giving the elderly a helping hand, listening attentively to the pain of a fallen person, offering the gift of your presence to anyone who may need your help.

The present time was given to us so that we may die to ourselves and experience a resurrection in Christ.

“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).

There is but one key for efficiency and fruitfulness. Jesus explains: In order for a grain of wheat to bring fruit, it has to die. And the apostle Paul says: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20, emphasis added). When Christ lives in us, what will be the result? We live His life. But what was His life like while He was on earth? His whole life was simply a life of service, full of love.

“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do” Philippians 4:9 (emphasis added.).

“He who would become a saint in heaven must first become a saint in his own family. If fathers and mothers are true Christians in the family, they will be useful members of the church and be able to conduct affairs in the church and in society after the same manner in which they conduct their family concerns. Parents, let not your religion be simply a profession, but let it become a reality…. Unless you manifest meekness, kindness, and courtesy in your home, your religion will be vain. If there were more genuine home religion, there would be more power in the church.”8

“The Christian home is to be an object lesson, illustrating the excellence of the true principles of life. Such an illustration will be a power for good in the world. . . . As the youth go out from such a home, the lessons they have learned are imparted.”9

We want our children to be examples worthy of imitation, and this is fine. It is a noble desire, but what they are today is the result of what we lived out yesterday. What we sowed yesterday, we reap today. It is necessary that the fathers be priests of the household, of the home. Mothers are needed to rear their children for God. Children need to be touched by the divine power. And our keyword should not be “tomorrow,” but rather “now or never.”

“Children should be taught very young to be useful, to help themselves, and to help others.”10

“Parents should teach their children that idleness is sin.

“There is nothing which more surely leads to evil than to lift all burdens from children, leaving them to an idle, aimless life, to do nothing, or to occupy themselves as they please.”11

“There are no drones in the household of faith. Every member of the family has some task assigned him, some portion of the vineyard of the Lord in which to work.”12

What impact does the way we teach our children have upon them? Will they be lively or will they just rot away? Once you only think about yourself, you become haughty, arrogant. This is the way children will grow, who indulge this attitude. The result will be a dwarfed, bored generation, inactive for God. God and His church do not need parents and children who bury their talents in the earth. The church of God needs active workers, not spectators.

“Work is constantly being done in heaven. There are no idlers there. ‘My Father worketh hitherto,’ said Christ, ‘and I work.’ ” 13

“A lamp, however small, if kept steadily burning, may be the means of lighting many other lamps.”14

By its very nature, fire gives birth to fire. If it is surrounded by some other flammable material, it only takes a spark from the anvil to ignite a fire. But from a single candle, tens of thousands are likewise lit. John the Baptist declared that He who was to come after him would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This is the greatest need of our days—a church baptized with fire. This is what the devil and his kingdom are afraid of, a church ignited by the fire of divine love. Who can withstand it? Love for God will be like a forceful dynamo, pushing you to dare big things for God. Dear youth and dear parents, now is not the time to quench the Spirit and limit God´s power, but rather to advance through faith!

“Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life.”15

“God will move upon men in humble positions to declare the message of present truth. Many such will be seen hastening hither and thither, constrained by the Spirit of God to give the light to those in darkness. The truth is as a fire in their bones, filling them with a burning desire to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Many, even among the uneducated, will proclaim the word of the Lord. Children will be impelled by the Holy Spirit to go forth to declare the message of heaven. The Spirit will be poured out upon those who yield to His promptings. Casting off man’s binding rules and cautious movements, they will join the army of the Lord.”16

How can I develop the gift that the world needs most?

“The youth need to be taught that life means earnest work, responsibility, care-taking. They need a training that will make them practical—men and women who can cope with emergencies. They should be taught that the discipline of systematic, well-regulated labor is essential, not only as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of life, but as an aid to all-around development.”17

1. Pious youth. The young need to be taught how to dearly love Christ and His kingdom, how to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to serving Him, how to be ready for any self-denial, any self-sacrifice, and for any work to which He may call them. It is necessary to act efficiently for Christ in any place—at home or away from home, in an upper-class society or in a lower-class society. Christ did not design the youth to live in a state of mediocrity.

2. Young people with developed minds. Will young Christians be satisfied with mere mediocrity in their work for the Redeemer´s kingdom, while worldly people strive for excellence in their activities and occupations? Beware of perverting your dependence upon Divine aid, believing that the heart´s zeal will compensate for the absence of knowledge. The commandment is: “Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind”—and this applies in the same measure both to serving and to loving Him. Our youth need a balanced and cultivated mind.

3. Self-sacrificing youth. “Enjoy the moment” is not something to be grasped, but rather something that needs to be sacrificed. “For God so much loved, that He gave. . . .” God gave Jesus as a Gift, so we can become givers. Now more than ever, there is a need for consecrated servants of Christ.

“Every youth, every child, has a work to do for the honor of God and the uplifting of humanity.”18

Dear youth, you may be the slave of material or professional progress, the slave of your watch, phone, or other device, the slave of welfare, or the slave of a misunderstood dream. All these or any other forms of servitude means a wasted life. Being like Christ does not mean to be a climber of the social ladder; it doesn´t mean being obsessed with control, it doesn´t mean living in comfort, but rather, it means giving. All that really matters is founded on giving, and life is not worth living without generosity. Giving means actually owning. Do you want to compel the Christ in you to not offer Himself? If you want to do this, He will not live within you, but rather you will instead remain the servant of your own selfishness.

You may not perform great things; you may not be called to be an employee of the church. No service is too small and none is too great. Many want to change the world, but too often no one wants to perform the small things which make an individual feel loved. The measure with which you give is the measure with which you receive.

“Is it not a privilege to be thus copartners with Jesus? Is it not an honor to be connected with the grand work of saving souls, acting the part assigned us by our Saviour? And none can impart a blessing to others without receiving benefit himself. ‘He that watereth shall be watered also himself” (Proverbs 11:25).’ “19

“Our faith should be prolific of good works, for faith without works is dead. Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward. In the very act of duty, God speaks and gives His blessing. But He requires of us an entire surrender of the faculties. The mind and heart, the whole being, must be given to Him, or we fall short of becoming true Christians.”20

“Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7).

Dear youth, dear parent, live every day as if you would be facing a terminal illness. Give today what you receive from Christ. The world desperately needs the manifestation of God´s love. I wish that at least after 100 years of existence, the Reform Movement may vibrate under the power of love and of the truth in Christ. I pray fervently that this Movement be not stifled, but rather may erupt like a volcano, and the whole earth be encompassed by the love of God.

Will you, dear youth, and dear parents, comprise this movement soon to encompass the whole world with the glory of God? This earthquake of love will reach to all the ends of the world—and then it will pierce eternity and continue there. The choice is yours. Choose wisely. Choose to burn for Christ. Be a light!