The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood,

and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood.

And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes.

Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from

your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”

Solomon marks the progress of life when he says “childhood” and

“young manhood.” And although he speaks to the male species,

we should not believe that it is addressed to them alone. Girls and

young women are surely the concern of the LORD, also.

I can remember resisting doing what my mother ordered me to do.

I can remember her emphases clearly when she said, “All right,

young man, you just do what you want! But, you’ll be sorry!”

Irony is “the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite

of its literal meaning.” That’s how Solomon uses the word rejoice

in this passage. Go on, guys, do whatever you want. Follow the

impulses of your heart. Let your eyes feast upon whatever they

desire. Just remember: “God is watching; and He will bring

you to judgment for all these things.”

It’s another way of saying, “You can’t do wrong and get by.” Oh,

you may escape the notice of some people. You may think: “Ah,

ha! No one noticed what I did. I’m clever. I’ve covered my tracks.”

But someone was watching! The camera-eye of Heaven caught

your every move. You were not a mere shadow; your identity

–even your thoughts—were unmistakably captured by the all-

seeing eye of God. Should you live to be yourself the parent of

a child, do you want your activities to become your child’s?

What is more, time and life are fleeting! We will all one day

stand before Almighty God! And He will judge the thoughts and

intentions of our hearts. He can and will give you the power to

become clean. Clean up, now! For tomorrow might be the day

we will be called into His Court!

We pray earnestly and lovingly for you every day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”