The Message of Elijah by M. E. Kern

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Sep 15, 1904

The Message of Elijah

By M. E. Kern

The Young People's Work—No. 1

The Message of Elijah

M. E. KERN

“BEHOLD, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Mal. 4:5, 6.

There is no greater or more important problem facing this denomination to-day than that of saving our young people to the kingdom of God and to the Master's service. When we all—parents, ministers, and teachers—are aroused to the situation, we shall put forth more determined efforts for the young people, and we shall see the fulfilment of the message of Elijah. We shall see the hearts of parents and children united in love. We shall see families everywhere planning together how they can spread the message of the soon-coming Saviour. We are told that “we have an army of youth to-day who can do much if they are properly directed and encouraged.”

It ought to be the greatest desire of our hearts that the boys and girls growing up in this denomination should give themselves to God to be sanctified by his truth. Not only this, but the cause of God needs these boys and girls with all their youthful ambition and energy and enthusiasm.

The Call to Action

“I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong.” God is calling on our youth to organize for service, and he is calling on every worker to give thoughtful consideration to this problem of enlisting our young people in the work of the church. He is calling on the overseers of the church “to devise ways whereby young men and women may be trained to put to use their entrusted talents.” He is calling on the ministers to use all their ingenuity “in devising plans whereby the younger members of the church may be led to co-operate with them in missionary work.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 435. These calls demand our careful thought and earnest prayers.

The power of God that is to attend the message will, first of all, be manifested in the homes that go to make up the church. It will enlist in the message the strong young men and women whose physical and mental capacity is a living witness to the principles of truth that have been committed to us. Properly directed and encouraged, the spirit of Christ will impel them, like himself, to be about their Father's business. Taking their positions in the ranks of the workers, they will push the triumph of the cross to every kindred, tongue, and people in this generation.

Young Men as Reformers

Geikie says, “The world, in all its affairs, is mainly what young men have made it. Manhood and age have taught, but it is youth that makes the disciples and spreads the doctrines.” “The living force that conquers the world for God is the fresh enthusiasm of opening life. Years may counsel and stimulate and provide the means, but the hard work must fall mainly on young strength and zeal.” Again he says “At sea or on shore, in the warehouse or the workshop, in war and in peace, in the church and in the world, youth bears the strain and carries the flag. Experience may counsel, but youth pulls the oar.”

It is true to-day. The wheels of progress are being moved largely by young men. In the commercial world, in educational circles, in politics and in religion, young men are at the front. The young people of Seventh-day Adventists are not below the average. Our people come largely from the middle class, which is the backbone of society. Our young men and women, strengthened by the grand principles of healthful living and Christian education, should be able to take their stand by the side of the youthful workers of this generation, command their respect, and give them the message for this time. This may be true if they can be led not merely to assent to the truth, but to cordially receive it into their hearts and throw their whole lives into its proclamation. But simply to give assent to the present truth, and not to consecrate the life to service, is to stay the hand and quench the ambition of any intelligent young man or woman. And this is the condition of many of our young people.

The Problem

Here is the great problem with which we must grapple. It is often said that the strength of this cause lies in its young people. But will our young people who know the truth be sanctified by the truth? Will they turn away from the enticements of this world, from the frivolities of our age, and devote themselves to God? Will they fill their minds with the Word of God or with the trashy imaginings of modern story writers? Will they turn from things

temporal to things eternal? Will they choose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? Will the church realize that “very much has been lost to the cause of God by a lack of attention to the young”? Will the church arouse to the needs of the present hour, and see that every effort possible is made to direct and encourage the army of youth that is among us, but is fast melting away?

A statement has been made by one of our leading educators which is a most startling one to consider. In reply to my query he affirms that it is a conservative statement based upon careful and extensive observation. It is this: The number of young people of Seventh-day Adventist parents who have left the truth in the last fifteen years is greater than the number of people we have brought into the denomination. Some of the workers for young people whom I have consulted express their confidence in the accuracy of the statement, while others think the figures too high. However that may be, is there not the serious proposition confronting us that our children are drifting away from the truth, and are seeking their pleasure and their work in the world? Where are our young people of fifteen years ago? What proportion are at present actively engaged in some part of the Master's work? As you who are older answer this question, what a picture does it present to your minds? In what measure are we responsible for this situation? and what do we propose to do to remedy it? As a General Conference, State conferences, schools, sanitariums, publishing houses, churches, families, and individuals, what can we do to save our young people and turn their youthful energies into the proclamation of the message? We will consider some of these questions in future articles.