At the moment that I write this article, the media is carrying on the discussion about the ban on festivals announced by Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam in connection with the unrest resulting from a dance festival at Hoek van Holland. Several riots or disturbances started at this festival resulting in the death of a young nineteen-year-old man. Thousands of young people were expected to attend this festival. How many of our young people would have been among them? We know full well that a number of our young people distinguish themselves slightly or not at all from their non-church peers. At times, on Sunday, it is noticeable that the activities of the Saturday evening make it difficult for the young members to actively participate and to listen in the Sunday service. What are we to do about this?

A Frequently Asked Question⤒🔗

A question that parents sometimes still ask the young people who want to go out, is this: “Can you meet the Lord Jesus there? Then you may go there.” It seems to me that this is a good question. With this question, life is placed in the perspective of the coming of the Lord Jesus whom we are awaiting. However, I do see a number of danger signals with the asking of this question.

1. In the first place it is a question that is not usually really meant as a question. The answer is implied and is as follows: no, you cannot meet the Lord Jesus there. We must not belittle the effect of that on the young people. Their conclusion will (subconsciously) be: life with the Lord is a life without celebration; it is only serious. There is no positive relationship imaginable between the pleasure I experience with my friends — often also those from the church — and the life with Christ.
2. Furthermore, you may ask yourself whether this question is not sending a signal that is difficult to relate to the heart of the gospel, namely, that we are saved by faith, without the works of the law. Does this question not give the impression that, in meeting with the Lord Jesus, “works” are of decisive importance? However, understand that I am not asserting that everything goes because we are saved by faith alone. But I conclude, from regular meetings with young people, that in their experience, the Ten Commandments determine whether someone will share in salvation. And I will not easily forget the catechism student who sighed: I wish that God would keep some sort of point system, so that you could at least know where you are at. In any case, this way of thinking is not powerfully challenged by asking this question.
3. In the third place, you must conclude that the question is more a word of power than a genuine seeking of a conversation with the child. The question is so massive that of course the young person cannot say something back; grudgingly he concludes that he will call his friends and tell them his parents will not let him go — or he goes anyway. In either case, no conversation has occurred and that is serious.
4. And finally, I fear that the question often — at least to the thinking of the young person — rises out of nothing. Is it a question that governs the totality of life in the family, or is it suddenly posed without context as a pretext for forbidding the outing? In other words: do the parents also truly live out of that question? Can we meet Jesus at the car with our shopping for the weekend? Can Dad meet him in his discussions with his colleagues? And what about mother when she speaks with her friends about members of the congregation or about the minister? And what is the message that young people receive when they see their father, totally engrossed in his work, or in the newest thing in the field of…(fill in the blank). In short, do the young people see in their parents — and more generally, in the life of the older people in the congregation — a life that is placed under the comfort and the discipline of the coming of the Lord Jesus, whom we await? Or do they see a life that revolves, just as everywhere else, around a career, making money, going on vacation, complaining about the boss — with the only difference that there are a number of things that we do not do, without if having a true foundation or deeper orientation?

First a Question for Ourselves←⤒🔗

Was it lip service when I just said that I thought it was a good question? No, on the contrary. It seems to me, also specifically today, that it is of utmost importance that the expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus gives our lives direction. But then also the whole of our life, so that talking with our young people about all kinds of matters does not just drop out of the sky, but happens in a harmonious connection with what they see. In other words, whoever poses the question to a young person, whether he can meet the Lord Jesus there, must also ask himself the same question continuously, whether he can meet the Lord in all his activities. Whoever has submitted his own life to this discipline has the right to ask the question. Otherwise, it would be better for him to remain silent.

This brings us to the first question for the congregation. Not a simple one, but an important question. The title above this article is a quote from Psalm 4, where David confesses that the joy the Lord gives, is greater than the joy of the world (the joy the Lord gives is greater “than they have when their grain and wine abound”). Is that visible in the life of the congregation? Does this glow of joy lie over our worship services? I do understand that this cannot be organized. It is the homework of the inner chamber.

The Joy in This Life As a Foretaste←⤒🔗

But it is not only homework for the inner chamber. There are also a number of things of which I believe that when we pay specific attention to them, we can teach our young people something and possibly keep them away from debauched parties.

The joy of which David speaks is not a joy brought about by passing up on life. In other words, Christian joy does not make you a stranger to the world. Now, as Calvinists, we are not known for our feasts, but why should we not turn that around and state, If you want to be somewhere for a good festival, then go to the Christians. When I sometimes go to parties of non‑Christians, there is always something lacking. Naturally, that is subjective, but that is not the whole story. What I mean is that at a beautiful Christian party, the joy is placed in perspective. To begin with, we know that this beautiful day has been given to us by the Lord God. He also gives us special days in our lives that we celebrate. But not only do we know the source of our joy, we also know that the joy which we may already experience today is a foretaste of that which God will give us in his kingdom. Everything that now is truly good will not be written off by the Lord. And where our joy is now incomplete, since we observe empty places at our parties, or carry concerns and troubles in our minds, we know that afterward the joy will be complete. Only these two details already make a Christian celebration different. In one way or another, many of the world’s parties can be categorized in the tone of 1 Corinthians 15:32b: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

In Practice←⤒🔗

Therefore, it would be good if we as church invest in bringing this message across to our young people. For this reason, it is realistic to think of organizing convivial, pleasant evenings in the church or at the home of the youth pastor or minister — evenings where everyone is relaxed and can enjoy beautiful things together. Organize Bible study weekends where there is plenty of time for relaxed socializing. Let the church organize a graduation party for those young people who graduated—and in this way show clearly that life with the Lord Jesus is not a life devoid of pleasure where one can only have a serious countenance. For way too long, the church has described the practice of the Christian life in terms of what is forbidden, what we do not do. It would be better to teach the congregation to enjoy what is truly good, and to teach people to discriminate between what is beautiful and what is not.

It seems to me of important importance that these things also have a place in catechism class. Will we initiate the conversation with the young people about the difference between the joy of the world and the joy as David speaks about it in Psalm 4? Do not hesitate to invite an older brother or sister to the catechism class who can speak in an experiential way about the joy that God gives. This can only cause the young people to reflect on it.

Finally, we must not forget that learning to see these things is ultimately not in our hands. We can live as an example to our young people, we can speak to them, but it is the Spirit who works effectively. And so we once again come to the inner chamber. Our speaking with the youth about how they use their free time will be fruitless if it is not brought before God in prayer, God who has joined his name to them in a covenant relationship.