Young people have been vital to society throughout history, because they form the next generation of every passing age. Their actions determine the continuation—or deterioration—of morals and values.

This is also true within the church. The future of the church lies in the spiritual vigor of the youth. They will either continue preserving the pure doctrine of the church or dilute it with worldly practices. So the youth are vulnerable as a key target of the deceiver, who knows they will be the ones who maintain the foundation of the church. To make the young people lazy about searching the scriptures would bring many misunderstandings, and thus easily cause the fall of the church and the truths for which it stands.

We as youth need to be aware that we are actually being targeted by the enemy now as never before. Satan’s fiendish aim is to dismantle the church and dilute her doctrine. To achieve this plan, Satan uses the “divide and conquer” strategy. “Divide and Conquer” is a tactical maneuver to make a group of people disagree and work against one another so they will not stay together as one. The arch foe knows how a united youth community can stand against his deceptions. He knows that with their intellectual vigor and capabilities to understand, assimilate, and uphold the pure doctrine of the church, he is as a dry leaf in comparison. Throughout history, Satan has always wanted to cause the great heavenly light among God’s people to flicker, grow dim, and eventually just fade out. Yet God has always had—and certainly continues to have—a peculiar people to preserve this precious light. The Lord’s greatest desire is to have a community of youth to dwell in this light and preserve it from one generation to another.

“Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25). This resonates even more clearly now than when it proceeded first from the Saviour’s lips. Only unity and oneness can make a wall of defence against the deceiver always striving to corrupt the precious light that should shine to the world.

It is God’s original plan that His fold should be scattered around the world, “having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”(Revelation 14:6). Diversity in traditions, color, language, and culture are tools in fulfilling this great commission, but does not endorse any practices contrary to the will of God. We are a global family that does not reject anyone on the basis of their culture. This family is fathered by God and we are His little children for as long as we do His will...”For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). O yes! We are even considered the brothers and sisters of Christ Himself.

Although scattered across the world, the youth gather on the basis of having faith in Christ Jesus and doing the will of God. It is only when we open our hearts to the study and assimilation of the word of God and make it our life principle that we can all gather at His feet. The Holy Spirit will guide our ways so as to make all of us of one character and culture.

Meanwhile, Satan takes advantage of the spirit of sluggardliness or lethargy. Often, the youth are too lax about studying the word of God and this can trigger division among us, for misunderstandings cause divisions to arise. We can only be united if we all appreciate our church’s doctrine and her mission. This enables the church to stand on solid ground. Let us all live by God’s word and it will make us join hands with all others of like precious faith and practice.

As one with Christ, we must completely wipe out our former bad habits that can arouse conflict among us. In the early church, “the hearts of those who had been converted under the labors of the apostles, were softened and united by Christian love. Despite former prejudices, all were in harmony with one another. Satan knew that so long as this union continued  to exist, he would be powerless to check the progress of gospel truth; and he sought to take advantage of former habits of thought, in the hope that thereby he might be able to introduce into the church elements of disunion.

“Thus it came to pass that as disciples were multiplied, the enemy succeeded in arousing the suspicions of some who had formerly been in the habit of looking with jealousy on their brethren in the faith and of finding fault with their spiritual leaders, and so ‘there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews.’ The cause of complaint was an alleged neglect of the Greek widows in the daily distribution of assistance. Any inequality would have been contrary to the spirit of the gospel, yet Satan had succeeded in arousing suspicion. Prompt measures must now be taken to remove all occasion for dissatisfaction, lest the enemy triumph in his effort to bring about a division among the believers.”— The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 87, 88.

When I was still a Sunday worshiper, I always found it difficult to understand how the church can be considered a family when her members are all scattered across the earth with different colors, traditions and societal values. This question troubled me for years and the answer was found when I was introduced to the Advent faith. I began to realize that people can also be united through the truth that God gave us. We use the same Bible around the world, regardless of our color, traditions and societal values. This truth unites people into a family—God’s family, born of Him. We can only be part of this family if we make this truth our chief guide of life.

“God’s people are not to be in confusion, lacking order and harmony, consistency and beauty. The Lord is greatly dishonored when disunion exists among His people. Truth is a unit. The unity that God requires must be cultivated day by day if we would answer the prayer of Christ. The disunion that is striving for existence among those who profess to  believe the last message of mercy to be given to the world, must find no place; for it would be a fearful hindrance to the advancement of God’s work. His servants are to be one, as Christ is one with the Father; their powers, illuminated, inspired, and sanctified, must be united to make a complete whole. Those who love God and keep His commandments are not to draw apart; they are to press together.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 174.

However, in observing the youth of the church, I have sensed a danger. Why? So many youth are taken up by social media and fashion. By spending a lot of time and money on things that eventually lead to spiritual destruction, we both lose our ticket to heaven and leave the church in desolation because we cannot be bonded together if we don’t cherish and appreciate the same values. It’s time for us to live by the principles of present truth and be knit together by it.

“The reason why the youth, and even those of mature years, are so easily led into temptation and sin is that they do not study the word of God and meditate upon it as they should. The lack of firm, decided will power, which is manifest in life and character, results from their neglect of the sacred instruction of God’s word. They do not by earnest effort direct the mind to that which would inspire pure, holy thought and divert it from that which is impure and untrue. There are few who choose the better part, who sit at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary, to learn of the divine Teacher. Few treasure His words in the heart and practice them in the life. The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from its earthliness and debasement. If the word of God were appreciated as it should be, both young and old would possess an inward rectitude, a strength of principle, that would enable them to resist temptation.”—Ibid., p. 319.

Let us all, as youth, cultivate this spirit of studying the word of God, even making it our chief study. It is only through this practice that we can be united, thus keeping the church with her mission on solid ground.

We are a global family with light to carry to all the world—and more importantly—to maintain a solid base to the church. But don’t forget that we are a diverse community. Some of us are weaned from the milk, maturing in faith and the word of God, while others are still nursing babes, having trouble keeping up with God’s standards. Our duty is not to coldly cast such away, but rather to bring them closer and mold each other for the service above. There are those who have left our company because of how we, at some point, treated them. The Lord’s messenger explains:

“It is not yet too late to redeem the neglects of the past. Let there be a revival of the first love, the first ardor. Search out the ones you have driven away, bind up by confession the wounds you have made. Come close to the great Heart of pitying love, and let the current of that divine compassion flow into your heart and from you to the hearts of others. Let the tenderness and mercy that Jesus has revealed in His own precious life be an example to us of the manner in which we should treat our fellow beings, especially those who are our brethren in Christ.”— Ibid., vol. 5, p. 612.

Let us not be like Cain, who denied any responsibility for being his brother’s keeper. Just as Christ keeps us close by His own pierced side, let us likewise hold dear to our hearts our brethren struggling with destructive habits. Let us kindly urge upon them the importance of leaving off such practices. God would be pleased to see a united movement of youth in the ardor of their first love. Regardless of the geographical location, we must be open to communicating to one another through the many means the church has adopted. Let us stay united and grow this marvelous family.

“The great work now to be accomplished is to bring up the people of God to engage in the work, and exert a holy influence. They should act the part of laborers. With wisdom, caution, and love, they should labor for the salvation of neighbors and friends. There is too distant a feeling manifested. The cross is not laid right hold of, and borne as it should be. All should feel that they are their brother’s keeper, that they are in a great degree responsible for the souls of those around them. The brethren err when they leave this work all to the ministers. The harvest is great, and the laborers are few. Those who are of good repute, whose lives are in accordance with their faith, can be workmen. They can converse with others, and urge upon them the importance of the truth. They must not wait for the ministers, and neglect a plain duty which God has left for them to perform.”—Gospel Workers (1892), p. 54.

Brothers and sisters, we need to cherish the light from our heavenly Father and share it with others.

“The youth who finds his joy in reading the Word of God, and in the hour of prayer, will be constantly refreshed by drafts from the fountain of life. He will attain a height of moral excellence and a breadth of thought of which others cannot conceive. Communion with God encourages good thoughts, noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, and lofty purposes of action. Those who thus connect themselves with God are acknowledged by Him as His sons and daughters. They are constantly reaching higher and still higher, obtaining clearer views of God and of eternity, until the Lord makes them channels of light and wisdom to the world.”—Messages to Young People, p. 247.

Let us train our minds in the work of our heavenly Father. The work of finishing the third angel’s message through the loud cry lies in us because we are still energetic. Let not the superficiality of culture divide us, but let us unite as one—regardless of our cultural differences. Let us make the word of God our culture and cultivate the spirit of seeking God’s guidance. God is one and we can all be one through Him, to His honor and glory.