Dear Form 5 students: You have an amazing opportunity to turn the tide of addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, the dependency syndrome, e-porn, gambling, crime and violence that are paralysing our communities. You must place a dream on your screen, you must have an overwhelming degree of confidence and a passion for excellence. You were designed for greatness–fearfully and wonderfully made.
God placed you upon this planet at this point in time for a specific purpose. We need doctors, engineers, nurses, politicians, businessmen, lawyers, artists, enter- tainers, teachers, contractors who are compassionate and truthful. You cannot afford to lose hope, to give up, to roll over and die. By God's grace, you can make an enormous difference in your home, community and in the church. You must make every effort to maximise your potential, to discover your talents, to seize the opportunities when they arrive.
Stop complaining and blaming. The world does not owe you a living. You have the right combination of skills and talents to be an amazing success. Please do not say that you are too young because you are never too young to be outstanding. Look at the following examples that are contained in a special World Adventist Youth Ministry Training Manual: Victor Hugo wrote a tragedy at 15, received three prizes at the academy, and the title of master before he was 20.
John de Medici became a cardinal at age 15. Pascal wrote a great work at 16 and died at 37; Raphael painted his wonderful work as a young man and died at 37. Calvin joined the reformation at 21 and wrote the Institute at 27, thus profoundly influencing the theological thought of later centuries. Alexander the Great was a mere youth when he rolled back the Asiatic hordes that threatened to destroy European civilisation almost at its birth, and conquered the world when he was 23. Isaac Newton was 24 when he formulated the law of gravity and made some of his greatest discoveries before 25.
Mc Cormick was 23 when he invented the reaper; and Charles Dickens wrote his Pickwick Papers at 24 and Oliver Twist at 25. Martin Luther was a triumphant reformer at 25, and started the Reformation at 30. Francis of Assisi was 25 when he founded the Franciscan Order, and John of Austria won the Battle of Lepanto–the greatest battle of modern times–at age 25. Keats, the "divine singer," was only a youth and died at 25.
At the age of 27, Napoleon conquered Italy and was recognised as the foremost commander of any age; Patrick Henry cried, "Give me liberty or give me death;" John Smith staked out a colonial empire in Virginia; and the evangelist Spurgeon built the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. Columbus laid out his plans to find an ocean route to India when he was 28. At that same age, Xavier teamed with Ignatius Loyola (30) to organise the Society of Jesuits.
Roger Williams was important enough to be banished as a heretic at 29 years old. Cortes was 30 when he stood gazing at the golden treasures of Mexico. Billy Graham was 31 at the time of his now-famous Los Angeles crusade. Hamilton was 32 when he held the post of Secretary of the Treasury, and when Maurice of Saxony died at age 32, all of Europe recognised him to be the profoundest statesman of his day. Great men like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela were obsessed with compassion and saved their countries from decadence and disaster.
They had an infectious patriotism and they recognised the power of God in their lives. Dear From 5 students, aim at targets that your peers and maybe parents call impossible. Develop a resilience through faith in God that would enable you to survive the most gruesome storms. No chimpanzee produced you. You are not the product of some evolutionary accident. You were created by God!
Even the big bang was not an accident. God spoke and light appeared–Big Bang! He spoke and a carpet of grass appeared interspersed with flowers.
Big Bang! God spoke and sun, moon and stars appeared–Big Bang! God spoke and birds of different colours and sizes flew across the sky–Big Bang! God spoke and fishes swan in a gigantic aquarium–Big Bang! God spoke and crafted man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils–Big, Big, Big Bang! Dear students, be assertive but resist the tendency to retaliate. Remember what Martin Luther King said: "When your enemy strikes you and you retaliate, then he is stronger than you; but when he strikes and you forgive, you are stronger than him."
Remember the strategy that Dr Daniel G Amen presents in his book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life. Don't give in to the anger of others just because it makes you uncomfortable. Don't allow the opinions of others to control how you feel about yourself. Your opinion, within reason, needs to be the one that counts. Say what you mean and stand up for what you believe is right.
Maintain self-control. Be kind, if possible, but above all be firm in your stance. Remember Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Thoughts:
Great men were obsessed with compassion. Stop complaining and blaming. Aim at targets that your peers may call impossible. You are never too young to be outstanding.
