YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

Maria’s husband died and left her with a little baby girl,Christiana. Maria knew that she must find a job so that she could put food on the table and provide a home for her baby. She had no skills or formal training. So she found a job as a maid. It provided the necessities, but no luxuries. Maria loved Christiana very much and never wanted to remarry. She watched her daughter grow into a beautiful young lady. But the poverty level life her mother provided left the girl wanting more.

One day Christiana left home for the city to start a life of her own. She began looking for work. But jobs were hard to find. Soon she ran out of the few dollars she had in her purse – she had no place to live and no food to eat. When she left home she took a stack of her own pictures with her. On the back of each of her pictures she wrote a note that said she was looking for work and left them in bars, hotels, nightclubs – places where men would be looking for a street walker or a prostitute. Now her money was gone, along with her pictures. Her mother knew Christiana was somewhere and needed her help. She set out to search for her. And she too left her pictures taped to mirrors in hotel lobbies.

The hard life Christiana was living took its toll on the way she looked – her beauty had sadly faded. She looked tired and used as she descended the stairs in the hotel where she had spent the night. As she walked down the steps, she noticed a picture she recognized taped to a mirror. Could it possibly be, she thought? Yes, it was her mother’s picture. Anxiously, she went to retrieve it. As she turned it over she saw a note from her mother that said, “Whatever you have become, or whatever you have done, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.”

A mother’s love is very deep for her children. So is God’s love for His children. Like a mother, God does not want His Children to be left behind.

One day some mothers brought their children to Jesus for Him to bless them. His disciples didn’t like this and tried to shoo the mothers away telling them not to bother Jesus. But when Jesus realized what was happening He was very displeased with His disciples. “Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don’t send them away! I tell you as seriously as I know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a little child will never be allowed into his Kingdom.” Then Jesus picked up the children and put His hands on their heads and blessed them” (Mark 10:14-17). Did you catch the answer to the question teenagers want YEA to answer? Jesus said “Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to children such as they.” God does not want children of any age left behind. His Kingdom belongs to them!

But do you want to be left behind? Have peers led you to believe that you will be better off if this present world continues? Do you really want this world to continue so that more people can die of AIDS, cancer, drug overdose, or murder? Do you want to see more parents divorce and more children grow up without a father? Do you want to see more homeless people on the streets, more wars fought or more crimes committed? If this world continues, this is exactly what will happen, except for one thing. The world around you will continue to get worse and worse. Is that what you want to be a part of?

Let’s take a look at what it will be like in God’s Kingdom. We report and you decide if you really want to be in God’s Kingdom or if you want to be left behind.

“Violence will disappear out of your land – all war will end. Your walls will be ‘Salvation’ and your gates ‘Praise.’ No longer will you need the sun or the moon to give you light, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and he will be your glory. Your sun shall never set; the moon shall not go down – for the Lord will be your everlasting light; your days of mourning all will end. All your people will be good. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands, this will bring me glory. The smallest family shall multiply into a clan; the tiny group shall be a mighty nation. I, the Lord will bring it all to pass when it is time” (Isaiah 60:18-22 TLB).

Well then, what happens to the kids when Christ returns? That will depend on whether you have accepted Christ as your Savior and have been baptized. If you are a living, obedient, baptized Christian when Christ returns you will be changed to spirit being (1 Corinthians 15:51,52). You will then be a very son or daughter of God with all that entails.When you compare what you will gain to the things you will miss out on, how does it stack up? Christ promised that you will inherit all things if you will commit your life completely to Him. “I will give to the thirsty the springs of the Water of Life – as a gift! Everyone who conquers will inherit all these blessings, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:7 TLB).

Those who focus on having more of what this world offers, stand the chance of being left behind. If you are left behind, you’ll miss out on something more wonderful than your mind can imagine. This will be the most exciting time in the history of man. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

God doesn’t want you to be left behind. He wants to give you a life, a family, a world that will surpass anything you have imagined. What a fantastic reward is waiting for you if you will but believe and receive. You have a choice – don’t allow yourself to be left behind. “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32 TLB).