This pastoral passage was first written for LRBC on February 15 2015.

In last week’s Bible study with my young adults group, we looked into the theme of fellowship with God. The Apostle John wrote that the Christian’s fellowship is with “the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1John 1:3). This means that there is a relationship between us and the Triune God. In the course of our evening I shared a quote that the group found especially helpful, so I thought it would be worth sharing again here. The quote is from a book called Communion with God, written by an Englishman named John Owen (1616-1683).

“Now a word to you that are young, who are full of health and strength and who are chasing after some beloved ambition or some beloved pleasure. Stop and consider. What are all your beloveds compared to Christ the true beloved? What satisfaction and happiness have they brought you? Show us the peace, quietness and assurance of everlasting blessedness they have brought you. Their paths are crooked. Whoever walks in them will not know peace. So look and see if there is a fit object for your highest love, one in whom you will find rest for your soul. . . Behold, he stands at the door and knocks. Do not reject him, lest you seek for him and do not find him.”

“Why do you spend your time in idleness and foolishness, wasting your precious time? . . . When he reveals himself to you and tells you he is Jesus the Son of God whom you have slighted and refused, how will it break your hearts and fill you with sorrow and remorse because you have neglected him . . . ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ “