Five Reasons to Remember Your Creator While You Are Young (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

"Remember your creator while you are young, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them,'" says Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:1. We would expect Solomon to tell everyone to remember their Creator because it’s essential for everyone to remember their Creator. Here are five reasons young people should remember their Creator specifically. https://youtu.be/7IYPxwiZbBU "Remember your creator while you are young," (Ecclesiastes 12:1). When you’re young God has given talents and gifts that diminish with age. Table of ContentsSolomon's Description of Old AgeOur Body Is FragileOur Body Is ValuableOur Body Can Break Suddenly and UnexpectedlyWhy You Should Remember Your Creator While You Are Young1. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because That's When You Have the Most Time to Serve Him2. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because Everything Is Working Well3. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because Meeting Him Seems Far Away4. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because of the World5. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Before Your Body Betrays YouLife with Christ Is not Vain What I would like to do this morning is read through the verses, give you an understanding of them, and then share the application. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;  We will talk more about remembering our Creator after we get through the verses. Solomon's Description of Old Age In Ecclesiastes 12:2-8 Solomon describes getting older. When when he says evil days come, he doesn’t mean days filled with wickedness. Instead, he means difficult days, or days of trouble, which is how it’s translated in some Bibles, referring to the days when you get older that can be filled with physical trials, pain, disabilities, sicknesses, or handicaps. They can be so difficult it says you find no pleasure in them. Look at verse two… Ecclesiastes 12:2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain,  Solomon compares old age with the gloom of a dark and rainy day. The idea is the clouds cloud, or darken life’s pleasures so much you find no enjoyment in anything. Now in the following verses Solomon provides one of the most imaginative descriptions of old age and death anywhere in Scripture. Commentators don’t agree on all the details, but they do agree on the main idea that there is a house that represents our bodies and it’s falling apart until it finally turns to dust…like us. This is a fitting metaphor, because elsewhere in Scripture our bodies are compared with houses, and the destruction of those houses is compared with death: Job 4:19 How much more those who dwell in HOUSES OF CLAY, whose foundation is IN THE DUST, who are crushed like the moth. 2 Corinthians 5:1 If the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  As we read these verses, if you write your Bible, I can tell you what to circle, and tell you what the metaphors mean. First one… Ecclesiastes 12:3a in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, Any guesses? You can circle the words keepers of the house and write, “Arms and legs.” Our arms and legs protect our bodies, or houses, and as we get older they start trembling. Ecclesiastes 12:3b and the strong men are bent, This is pretty straightforward. You can circle the word bent and write, “Osteoporosis.” People hunch over as they get older. This happens even with the strongest men. Ecclesiastes 12:3c and the grinders cease because they are few, Any guesses? You can circle the word grinders and write, “Teeth.” They become fewer because they start falling out. Ecclesiastes 12:3d and those who look through the windows are dimmed,  Any guesses? You can circle the words, “Those who look through the windows,” and write, “Eyes.” Our eyes are dimmed in that we don’t see as well. Ecclesiastes 12:4a and the doors on the street are shut— Any guesses? You can circle the word doors and write, “Mouths.” Other verses compare our mouths with doors… Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the DOOR OF MY LIPS! Older people might not talk as much, or might not have as much to say. Ecclesiastes 12:4b when the sound of the grinding is low, Again, this refers to our teeth, and the grinding is low because older people don’t eat as much. Ecclesiastes 12:4c and one rises up at the sound of a bird, You can’t sleep well. The slightest sound wakes you up. Ecclesiastes 12:4d and all the daughters of song are brought low—  The sound of singing is brought low because you don’t hear as well. Ecclesiastes 12:5a they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; Older people are afraid of higher places. Terrors are in the way refer to dangerous streets, as it’s translated in some Bibles. Older people are afraid of traveling. They know they can’t escape if they are attacked or robbed. This isn’t much of a threat in our day, but in the ancient world travel was dangerous. Think of the parable of the good Samaritan and the man who was robbed on the road. Ecclesiastes 12:5b the almond tree blossoms, Any guesses? You can circle these words and write, “White hair.” When almond trees blossom they turn white, referring to the development of gray or white hair. Ecclesiastes 12:5c the grasshopper drags itself along, You move slowly like a grasshopper at the end of the summer season, because it worked so hard preparing for the winter. Ecclesiastes 12:5d and desire fails, You lack the desire to do certain things. Most commentaries point out that physical intimacy is in view, which diminishes with old age. Ecclesiastes 12:5e because man is going to his eternal home, We are getting ready to leave this life for the next. Ecclesiastes 12:5f and the mourners go about the streets—  Referring to our funerals. While we know we’re talking about death in the next verse, there are different opinions about the meaning of the specific metaphors. I will give you my best guess after looking at multiple commentaries. Ecclesiastes 12:6a before the silver cord is snapped, This could refer to the spinal cord breaking. Ecclesiastes 12:6a or the golden bowl is broken, This could refer to the brain stopping. Ecclesiastes 12:6b or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, This could refer to the heart failing, because we know elsewhere in Scripture the heart is associated with a fountain: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Ecclesiastes 12:6c or the wheel broken at the cistern,  This could refer to the veins and arteries that go out from the heart the way spokes go out from the center of a wheel. Even if the interpretation of some of these metaphors is incorrect, we can still tell he’s talking about death and glean important truths…and this brings us to lesson one… Our Body Is Fragile Everything Solomon mentioned is fragile: a silver cord, a golden bowl, a pitcher, and a wheel. And our bodies are fragile. Fragile was the word I kept repeating to myself over the last month. I just felt fragile: Whenever the kids came in to see me, it was always like, “Be careful with Daddy.” When I was able to stand up and walk around the house, it was like, “Be careful with Daddy.” Last Sunday was my first back to church and many of you wonderfully came up to give me a hug, but I could tell you were doing it very carefully. It was like, “Be careful with Pastor Scott. He is fragile.” When Solomon says to remember your Creator in the days of your youth, he is giving some great advice because that is what allows old age to be bearable. He knows that our bodies are fragile - and as he says in verse two, the painful days are ahead - so we should lay a good spiritual foundation when we’re young to be prepared for the difficulty ahead. Our Body Is Valuable Solomon describes the destruction of four objects. They might not look valuable to us because we are so wealthy, but in the ancient world in which Solomon wrote this, only wealthy people would have such costly materials…such as silver cords or golden bowls. Since they represent our bodies, Solomon is saying our bodies are valuable. Our Body Can Break Suddenly and Unexpectedly When I was looking at these verbs I realized how fitting they are: snap, break, shatter. It’s not pleasant to think about, but they describe what can happen to our bodies as we age. Even if we are healthy at this moment, each day that passes we are one day closer to something snapping, breaking, or shattering. The other application is… These objects all break suddenly and unexpectedly, and since they’re metaphors for death, they communicate how death can come suddenly and unexpectedly. Look at verse seven… Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.  There were metaphors up to this point, but now Solomon couldn’t be clearer. Two different directions: our bodies go down to the ground and our spirits go up to God. Once the spirit leaves the body, the body begins to decay and eventually turns to dust. Just like Genesis 2:7 and 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for YOU ARE DUST, AND TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN.” I want to share something with you from when Katie and I were going over the sermon… She said, “This is pretty much the most discouraging message ever.” To be honest, I agree with her. I get. It sounds very discouraging. But guess what? ...