Five Reasons to Remember Your Creator While You Are Young (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth.” To remember your Creator means more than recalling that God exists: it means honoring Him and living in obedience to Him now. Solomon urges young people to do this before the physical decline and death described in the following verses. Do not postpone seeking God until you are older.

Here are five practical reasons to remember your Creator while you are young: For students approaching their next season of life, my four graduation tips for seniors offer further practical counsel.

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1. Give God the years ahead of you.
2. Use the strength and opportunities you have now.
3. Remember that life is limited, even when death seems far away.
4. Resist the world’s distractions from your Creator.
5. Seek Him before increasing physical weakness makes life more difficult.

This passage does not mean that older people, or young people with illness or disabilities, cannot serve God. The call is to trust Him with the life and abilities He has given you. As we will see, growing older does not make a life lived for Christ meaningless.

What I would like to do here is read through the verses, give you an understanding of them, and then share the application.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 

We will talk more about remembering our Creator after we get through the verses.

Solomon’s Description of Old Age

In Ecclesiastes 12:2-8 Solomon describes getting older. When he says evil days come, he doesn’t mean days filled with wickedness. Instead, he means difficult days, or days of trouble, which is how it’s translated in some Bibles, referring to the days when you get older that can be filled with physical trials, pain, disabilities, sicknesses, or handicaps. They can be so difficult it says you find no pleasure in them.

Ecclesiastes 12:2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 

Solomon compares old age with the gloom of a dark and rainy day. The idea is the clouds cloud, or darken life’s pleasures so much you find no enjoyment in anything.

In the following verses Solomon provides one of Scripture’s most imaginative descriptions of old age and death. Some details of the imagery are debated. I understand the house as a picture of our bodies growing weak, with the passage moving toward death and the body’s return to dust.

This is a fitting metaphor, because elsewhere in Scripture our bodies are compared with houses, and the destruction of those houses is compared with death:

• Job 4:19 How much more those who dwell in HOUSES OF CLAY, whose foundation is IN THE DUST, who are crushed like the moth.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1 If the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

As we read these verses, if you write in your Bible, I can tell you what to circle, and tell you what the metaphors mean.

First one…

Ecclesiastes 12:3a in the day when the keepers of the house tremble,

Any guesses?

You can circle the words keepers of the house and write, “Arms and legs.”

Our arms and legs protect our bodies, or houses, and as we get older they start trembling.

Ecclesiastes 12:3b and the strong men are bent,

Picture the bent posture of someone whose strength has declined. Solomon uses the image of strong men bending to describe the weakness that can accompany aging.

People hunch over as they get older. This happens even with the strongest men.

Ecclesiastes 12:3c and the grinders cease because they are few,

Any guesses?

You can circle the word grinders and write, “Teeth.” They become fewer because they start falling out.

Ecclesiastes 12:3d and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 

Any guesses?

You can circle the words, “Those who look through the windows,” and write, “Eyes.”

Our eyes are dimmed in that we don’t see as well.

Ecclesiastes 12:4a and the doors on the street are shut—

Any guesses?

You can circle the word doors and write, “Mouths.”

Other verses compare our mouths with doors…

Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the DOOR OF MY LIPS!

Older people might not talk as much, or might not have as much to say.

Ecclesiastes 12:4b when the sound of the grinding is low,

Again, this refers to our teeth, and the grinding is low because older people don’t eat as much.

Ecclesiastes 12:4c and one rises up at the sound of a bird,

You can’t sleep well. The slightest sound wakes you up.

Ecclesiastes 12:4d and all the daughters of song are brought low— 

The sound of singing is brought low because you don’t hear as well.

Ecclesiastes 12:5a they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way;

Older people are afraid of higher places.

Terrors are in the way is rendered as dangers along the way in some translations. Increasing frailty can make an ordinary journey intimidating. Travel in the ancient world also carried real dangers; think of the man attacked by robbers in the parable of the good Samaritan.

Ecclesiastes 12:5b the almond tree blossoms,

Any guesses?

You can circle these words and write, “White hair.”

When almond trees blossom they turn white, referring to the development of gray or white hair.

Ecclesiastes 12:5c the grasshopper drags itself along,

The image suggests a body moving slowly and with difficulty, like a grasshopper dragging itself along.

Ecclesiastes 12:5d and desire fails,

You lack the desire to do certain things. Most commentaries point out that physical intimacy is in view, which diminishes with old age.

Ecclesiastes 12:5e because man is going to his eternal home,

We are getting ready to leave this life for the next.

Ecclesiastes 12:5f and the mourners go about the streets— 

Referring to our funerals. While we know we’re talking about death in the next verse, there are different opinions about the meaning of the specific metaphors. I will give you my best guess after looking at multiple commentaries.

Ecclesiastes 12:6a before the silver cord is snapped,

This could refer to the spinal cord breaking.

Ecclesiastes 12:6a or the golden bowl is broken,

This could refer to the brain stopping.

Ecclesiastes 12:6b or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain,

This could refer to the heart failing, because we know elsewhere in Scripture the heart is associated with a fountain: Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Ecclesiastes 12:6c or the wheel broken at the cistern, 

This could refer to the veins and arteries that go out from the heart the way spokes go out from the center of a wheel.

Even if the interpretation of some of these metaphors is incorrect, we can still tell he’s talking about death and glean important truths….

Our Body Is Fragile

Everything Solomon mentioned is fragile: a silver cord, a golden bowl, a pitcher, and a wheel.

And our bodies are fragile.

Fragile was the word I kept repeating to myself over the last month. I just felt fragile:

• Whenever the kids came in to see me, it was always like, “Be careful with Daddy.”
• When I was able to stand up and walk around the house, it was like, “Be careful with Daddy.”
• When I first returned to church and many of you wonderfully came up to give me a hug, but I could tell you were doing it very carefully. It was like, “Be careful with Pastor Scott. He is fragile.”

When Solomon says to remember your Creator in the days of your youth, he is giving some great advice because that is what allows old age to be bearable.

He knows that our bodies are fragile – and as he says in verse two, the painful days are ahead – so we should lay a good spiritual foundation when we’re young to be prepared for the difficulty ahead.

Our Body Is Valuable

Solomon describes the destruction of four objects. They might not look valuable to us because we are so wealthy, but in the ancient world in which Solomon wrote this, only wealthy people would have such costly materials…such as silver cords or golden bowls.

Since they represent our bodies, Solomon is saying our bodies are valuable.

Our Body Can Break Suddenly and Unexpectedly

When I was looking at these verbs I realized how fitting they are: snap, break, shatter. It’s not pleasant to think about, but they describe what can happen to our bodies as we age.

Even if we are healthy at this moment, each day that passes we are one day closer to something snapping, breaking, or shattering.

The other application is…

These objects all break suddenly and unexpectedly, and since they’re metaphors for death, they communicate how death can come suddenly and unexpectedly.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 

There were metaphors up to this point, but now Solomon couldn’t be clearer. Two different directions: our bodies go down to the ground and our spirits go up to God.

Once the spirit leaves the body, the body begins to decay and eventually turns to dust. Just like Genesis 2:7 and 3:19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for YOU ARE DUST, AND TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN.”

I want to share something with you from when Katie and I were going over the sermon…

She said, “This is pretty much the most discouraging message ever.”

To be honest, I agree with her. I get it. It sounds very discouraging. But guess what?

It’s true! We get older, our bodies break down, and we die. I know this doesn’t go really well with health and wealth and prosperity preaching, but it’s in the Bible, it’s true, and God wants us thinking about it, because it’s going to happen, so we should think about…and hear preaching about it.

Why You Should Remember Your Creator While You Are Young

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 

We would probably expect Solomon to tell ALL people to remember their Creator, because it’s important for everyone to remember their Creator. But instead, he says young people.

Why?

Well, the obvious reason is it is easy to forget your Creator in the days of your youth. So here are five reasons to remember your creator while you are young…

1. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because That’s When You Have the Most Time to Serve Him

I mean this two ways. First, we should remember our creator when we are young, because we have our whole lives ahead of us to serve Him. It is wonderful when people come to Christ at the end of their lives, but their greatest regret is often that they came to Christ at the end of their life. They wish they would have gotten saved earlier so they could have started serving the Lord earlier.

Second, we should remember our Creator when we are young, because that is when we have the most time to serve Him. We don’t have as many responsibilities when we’re young. When we get older and are married and have spouses and families and full-time jobs, we don’t have as much time to serve the Lord. Paul explained it this way:

1 Corinthians 7:32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.

Paul refers to people being without the responsibilities of having a spouse. Every married person—especially those with children—recognizes that a family takes a lot of time and energy that could be committed directly to serving the Lord. I pastor a church, but my most important ministry is to my wife and children. If I were unmarried, I could commit even more time to studying, meeting with people, teaching, and so on. The Apostle Paul himself is a good example. He had a ministry that a man with family responsibilities could not have fulfilled. He wanted others to be able to serve the Lord with the same singleness of mind he was able to have.

2. Remember Your Creator While You Have Strength and Opportunity

When you’re young you typically don’t have the sort of physical problems that Solomon describes in these verses that older people have that can cause them to seek the Lord in prayer.

We don’t like having physical problems, but one of the wonderful benefits is they cause us to turn to the Lord. When I am weak then I am strong. Few things cause us to pray more than health problems.

So Solomon says remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before your body starts breaking down.

3. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because Meeting Him Seems Far Away

I was probably in the best shape of my life when I was in ROTC in college. As you can guess most of the other cadets who were in ROTC with me were also in very good shape.

One day an older officer was talking to us and he said, “When you’re young you never think about dying.” He knew we were young, fit, and healthy, and death was the furthest thing from our minds. He was right. Then he said, “When you get older you start thinking about death more often.” He was right about that as well.

Growing older can make the reality of death harder to ignore. But young people should not wait for that awareness before seeking their Creator. None of us knows how many years we have ahead of us.

We should spend our lives, not just our older years, thinking about our Creator. Many people have gotten older, looked back and realized they forgot about their Creator for much of their life. Then they wish they would’ve done what Solomon said and remembered Him in the days of their youth.

4. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Because of the World

When you are young it’s easy to get caught up in everything the world offers. Being young is exciting, but the excitement can become a barrier to closeness with God. Young people can be more focused on the physical and temporal of this life than the spiritual and eternal of the next life.

So Solomon says remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Doing so will keep you from the world.

5. Remember Your Creator While You Are Young Before Your Body Betrays You

I would like to make a strong appeal to the young people here…

God has given you time, abilities, interests, and opportunities. Use what He has entrusted to you now. You may not always have the same physical strength or the same opportunities to serve Him.

So make the most of these things available to you while you are young and you still can.

• When you have the energy…
• When you don’t have the limitations you will have when you are older…
• When everything is working well for you…

When your sciatica doesn’t have you lying on your back all day in bed. Don’t waste what God is giving you on worldly and meaningless activities and pursuits.

You only have these gifts, talents, and strengths for a limited amount of time, because they are going to diminish as you get older. So use them to their fullest when you are young.

Tragically there are many people who come to the end of their lives and regret that they wasted so many years NOT serving God.

Do you know one of the best examples, if not the best example, not just in all Scripture, but in all of history of doing exactly what Solomon is warning against?

Solomon! It is not a coincidence that he is the one who wrote this. God wrote Scripture through human authors, but He often used the human author’s strengths, weaknesses, and experiences, to give them credibility and further bolster the points they are making.

I read Ecclesiastes as Solomon’s reflection on the emptiness of the pleasures and pursuits he describes. His life gives weight to the warning: wisdom, wealth, and opportunity do not make up for turning away from God. We should not squander the years and abilities God has given us.

So he reaches out to young people and says, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth so that you will not get older and have the same regrets that I have.”

The young people here should read this account and say, “Since I know that the difficult days are coming, and I won’t have this strength and vitality forever, I better lay a strong spiritual foundation during the good days when I’m young.”

Ecclesiastes 12:8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

Verse 8 echoes Ecclesiastes 1:2, returning to the book’s opening description of vanity. But it is not the end of the book. Ecclesiastes continues through verse 14 and concludes by calling us to fear God and keep His commandments, because He will bring every deed into judgment. Read the conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:9–14.

But let me be clear about something, because if you don’t understand this one point about Ecclesiastes you will completely misunderstand the book…

Much of Ecclesiastes exposes the emptiness of pursuing life apart from God. Solomon’s descriptions of pleasure, work, and wealth show how little these things can satisfy when we treat them as our ultimate purpose. The book’s closing call to fear God matters: it does not tell us that trusting and obeying Him is meaningless.

I know it’s been somewhat discouraging up to this point. Let me encourage you. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15:58.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that IN THE LORD YOUR LABOR IS NOT IN VAIN.

Solomon found life to be vanity of vanities, but Paul shows the other side of this. This leads to an encouraging contrast: a life lived for Christ is not vain.

Life with Christ Is not Vain

Yes, life without Christ is vain, but life with Christ is not vain no matter what we experience.

I like that Paul says labor. If he said all of your fun, or enjoyment, or hobbies, are not in vain, you would say, “Of course they are not in vain, they are enjoyable.”

But what are we most afraid of being in vain?

Our labor. Our service. Our sacrifice. Paul says it’s not in vain.

To bring this back to our bodies breaking down:

• All our suffering
• All our pain and trials
• All our perseverance

Is not in vain if we’re in Christ.

Here’s one other thought…

As I read the book of Ecclesiastes I see a man who is at best discouraged, and at worst depressed and hopeless. Why is that?

Solomon’s reflections invite us to consider what we are living for before our strength is spent.

• It’s the record of a person living without God, and if you live without God when you reach the end of your life all of your good years are behind you. You have nothing to look forward to in the future.
• But for the Christian it is the opposite. When we come to the end of our life, all of our best years are ahead of us. We have everything to look forward to in the future.

Everything was unpleasant to Solomon, but it doesn’t have to be unpleasant to us:

• It was unpleasant to him because he focused on the pleasures and pursuits of this life.
• If we only think about and live for this life it is unpleasant for us as well.

But if we are in Christ and we live for and think about the next life we can experience peace and joy even when our bodies break down.

Let me close with this quote…

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices.” Our bodies seem to betray us, but we can be encouraged that we are using them up as living sacrifices for God’s glory.

If you want to explore how to honor God in the work and rest of everyday life, my book Work and Rest God’s Way offers biblical guidance for finding joy and purpose in what He has given you to do.

Questions for Reflection

• What does remembering your Creator mean beyond acknowledging that God exists?
• How can you use the strength and opportunities you have now to serve Him?
• How does the hope of life with Christ change your view of aging?

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