It's graduation time for many young people. What do we give them?
Seriously, without wanting to be trite, what do they need more than the gospel as Good News for their hungry young hearts? Whether or not you give them fun gifts and treat them like they deserve some great reward (which graduates don't deserve--they need to acquire a sense of responsibility), they will get the fun they want, and it will sooner or later leave them hungrier than ever for something satisfying for their starved souls.
Try to find some books (or maybe CDs or DVDs?) that will not be mere "baby food" and boring, but something that will stimulate their thinking and awaken them spiritually.
Selecting the right gift will be more of a task for you than finding a gadget to buy for them.
Contemplate first the value of a young person knowing what is "the everlasting gospel," or what Revelation 14 describes as "the third angel's message" (let me add, "in verity"). Knowing the truth is a tremendous blessing to a young mind, for Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Free from the entrapments of deception; free from despair (depression is severe among young people); free from dead-end living for self. I cannot describe the blessing that reading one good book did for me when I was in my late teens or early 20's.
I'll recommend it herewith: it's a verse-by-verse study of Paul's Letter to the Galatians that I personally found not only interesting, but have treasured as inspiring to me in a life-long way: THE GLAD TIDINGS by E. J. Waggoner. Would your young person find it as helpful as I did when I was young? Well, I'm not all-wise by any means; all I can say is that it was and is the clearest, most winsome presentation of the genuine GOOD NEWS I have ever found.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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