Today we will read Ecclesiastes 12: 1-8:

1 Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; 3 in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; 4 when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; 5 when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper bud falls; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; 6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes is almost done, the Teacher is almost finished sharing with us what wisdom he has for us. What does it tell us today?  Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before things get hard before life gets hard before things get complicated. 

Remember the Lord before you start.  In fact, get off to the right start. 

As parents, as a church, one of the most important things we can do is teach, love, and pour into our children. Tell them how much God loves them. Model His love for them.  Form them daily in His love. Get them off to the right start.  

As the teacher reflects upon everything he has seen, everything he has done, that is what he comes back to.  Remember God in the days of your youth. 

So those of us who are not “youth” anymore, what are we to do with this?  I think it is a call to make sure we are using our resources, our gifts, and our treasure to reach the young.  To care for the children. To love them. To point them to Jesus. 

As parents. As grandparents. As church members. As neighbors.  How are we reaching the children?  How are we getting them off to the right start?  How are we pointing them to Jesus? 

The teacher tells us that is what is most important. 

As adults today, let us have ears to hear.  Teach the children. That’s our great calling. 

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