Chapter 138—Guiding Principles
The heart belongs to Jesus. He has paid an infinite price for the
soul; and He intercedes before the Father as our Mediator, pleading
not as a petitioner, but as conqueror who would claim that which is
His own. He is able to save to the uttermost, for He ever lives to make
intercession for us. A young heart is a precious offering, the most
valuable gift that can be presented to God. All that you are, all the
ability you possess, comes from God a sacred trust, to be rendered
back to Him again in a willing, holy offering. You cannot give to God
anything that He has not first given you. Therefore when the heart is
given to God, it is giving to Him a gift which he has purchased and is
His own.
There are many claimants to the time, the affections, and the
strength of youth. Satan claims the youth as his property, and a vast
number render to him all the ability, all the talent, they possess. The
world claims the heart; but that heart belongs to the One who redeemed
it. If given to the world, it will be filled with care, sorrow, and disap-
pointed hopes; it will become impure and corrupted. It would be the
worst kind of robbery to give to the world your heart’s affections and
service, for they belong to God. You cannot with profit give your heart
to pleasure-seeking.
The enemy of righteousness has every kind of pleasure prepared
for youth in all conditions of life; and they are not presented alone in
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crowded cities, but in every spot inhabited by human beings. Satan
loves to secure the youth in his ranks as soldiers. The arch fiend well
knows with what material he has to deal; and he has displayed his
infernal wisdom in devising customs and pleasures for the youth which
will separate their affections from Jesus Christ....
The Prodigal
The lesson of the prodigal is given for the instruction of youth. In
his life of pleasure and sinful indulgence, he expends his portion of the
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