This week’s Weekly Christian Focus introduces readers to Ralph Venning, a seventeenth-century English preacher and writer whose powerful work The Plague of Plagues left a lasting impression on the author. Venning’s extensive study of sin describes sin as humanity’s great spiritual plague and examines its destructive effects through Scripture.
The main focus of this article is a lesser-known section of Venning’s book concerning youth. Drawing heavily from Ecclesiastes 12:1, Venning urges young people to remember their Creator while they are young rather than postponing devotion to God until later in life. He warns that youth, strength, memory and opportunity should be given to God rather than wasted in sin and worldly pleasures.
Venning points to biblical examples of people who followed God from an early age, including Joseph, Samuel, Josiah, Daniel, the three Hebrew young men, John and Timothy. He also challenges parents to teach children spiritual courage and to help them understand that fearing sin is more important than fearing the opinions or pressures of the world.
The article concludes with an appeal to Christians today to pray for young people and consider how they can influence the next generation to follow Jesus.
