'Youth is Wasted on the Young'

Or to be more accurate, my question is really ' Is youth wasted on the young?' One of the advantages of getting older is that you have the benefit of all of the knowledge gained through the years of your life. I've often had it said to me over the years, "Oh, if only I had known all that I know now when I was young, what a difference it would have made to my life." Of course our knowledge is available for today's young to learn from, but one of the strange realities of life is that, when it comes to actually living, the young have a need to find out first-hand for themselves rather than second-hand through someone else. It seems that life's major lessons cannot be taught so much as experienced and then learned.

The other day I thought to myself, 'It was wonderful to be young'. I cast my mind back to various moments in my youth when I met someone special or experienced something for the first time, even if the experience turned out to be less than hoped for, it was still a great time of learning. Like my peers, I had to experience the establishing of friendships and how to maintain them. I had to learn the difference between the love one felt for family and that of friends, and then, eventually, I learned about the great depth of love for one special person, that great enigma which we refer to as 'falling in love'. Looking back to those times I wonder whether I would have changed anything had I had the knowledge that I now have. I don't think I would have changed very much, if anything at all.

I remember falling in love for the first time with great clarity. I recall the wobbly legs and the increased beating of my heart, and the wondering whether she could ever feel the same way about me, then discovering that --- wonder of wonders --- she did. I can remember the sensation of floating on a cloud just at the mention of her name, and how she filled my head every waking moment. I remember the clothes she wore when I first saw her, and the joy of our first kiss. In those days there was a wonderful innocence about such a relationship. Holding hands, touching fingers, the trembling kisses, these were the things that were the star moments of the moonstruck lovers. In retrospect, would I change any of that? No, definitely not.

I remember too, the heartbreak when we finally split up, and the feeling that my life was over. No matter how many well-intentioned comments from adults telling me that I'd soon forget, move on, discover others, etc. For me, there might be plenty more pebbles on the beach, but I only desired my pebble. Yet somehow, just as the rush of first love is exquisite, so is the pain of first loss. It was an experience from which I learned much, and one that helped me often throughout my life, either when I needed to be reminded of it or when I was in a position to counsel another person.

All he experiences of youth, things like first school, first great excitement, first great disappointment, first great love, first great sorrow, and so on, can only ever be the preserve of the young. Only the young can experience these things. Knowing about them is far different from actually experiencing them for ourselves.

In the same way, we can learn about Jesus Christ from others and the knowledge gained can help us to live more meaningful lives. For example, knowing the manner in which Jesus lived and helped others, can motivate us to live our lives in service to others. But, no matter how much we learn about Jesus, until we get a first-hand experience of the living Christ in our own lives we are only at the very edge of what we could be experiencing. Knowing Him is far different from actually experiencing Him for ourselves.

Do you really know Him? Is He simply an historical figure for you, albeit one on which you base your life, or is He a living, today, person? Is He someone whom you can confide in, rely on, and accompany wherever you go? If not, then perhaps you know lots about Him without really knowing Him at all, and if that's the case why not change it today and make Him your life's travelling companion, mentor and guide.