For Youth and Truth

Children will live most of their lives in tomorrow. So it seems logical to say, influence them and you influence the future. As children go, so goes a culture. In the Middle East and North Africa this truism is playing out before our eyes.
In the 22 countries comprising the Middle East the population growth rate will double the total every 25 years. In a regional population of more than 500 million people about 100 million are 17 years of age or younger. Some 20% of the Middle East’s population is 15-24 years of age. Over 40% of the populations of Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, and Yemen, for example, are under 15.

It’s called the “youth bulge,” a surge in the population curve that brings to the Middle East both challenges and opportunities. The challenges come when economic and social structures cannot keep up. Some call this phenomenon “waithood,” a period of prolonged adolescence before adulthood when youth must wait longer for jobs, marriage, etc. The opportunities are being labeled a “demographic gift,” the chance to build a prosperous future on the minds and shoulders of energetic youth.

Surging youth population also represents an enormous spiritual opportunity. Every day, SAT-7 KIDS beams uncensored biblically based programming to a huge audience of youthful viewers. Satellite television is an incredibly powerful tool. Children and teens (older siblings and parents too) can see, hear, and experience for themselves genuine biblical Christianity.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me…” (Matt. 19:14). Jesus also named John to the Twelve and later while hanging on the cross, Jesus entrusted the care of his Mother to John, the “disciple whom he loved” (Jn. 13:23; 19:26). At that point John was likely still a teenager. Jesus cared about children and youth.

We know children are more open to Gospel Truth than adults. I accepted Christ when I was 6 years old. How old were you when Jesus forgave you? Most of us were young. Same is true in the Middle East. Watering an acorn with Truth today grows a grace-filled oak tomorrow. 
                
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© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved

Opinions in this column are Dr. Rogers’s and do not necessarily represent SAT-7 or SAT-7 USA. Good News from the Middle East may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at
rexrogers@sat7.org.  Follow at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.

Date: 2/1/2010