How Shall Our Youth Be Trained?John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, received his early training from his parents. The greater portion of his life was spent in the wilderness, that he might not be influenced by beholding the lax piety of the priests and rabbis or by learning their maxims and traditions, through which right principles were perverted and belittled. The religious teachers of the day had become so blind spiritually that they could hardly recognize the virtues of heavenly origin. So long had they cherished pride, envy, and jealousy that they interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures in such a manner as to destroy their true meaning. It was John’s choice to forgo the enjoyments and luxuries of city life for the stern discipline of the wilderness. Here his surroundings were favorable to habits of simplicity and self-denial. Uninterrupted by the clamor of the world, he could here study the lessons of nature, of revelation, and of providence. The words of the angel to Zacharias had been often repeated to John by his God-fearing parents. From his childhood his mission had been kept before him, and he accepted the holy trust. To him the solitude of the desert was a welcome escape from the society in which suspicion, unbelief, and impurity had become well-nigh all-pervading. He distrusted his own power to withstand temptation and shrank from constant contact with sin lest he should lose the sense of its exceeding sinfulness. {8T 221.1}

(221) Johannes Døberen, Kristi forløber, modtog sin jordiske oplæring fra sine forældre. En større del af hans liv blev brugt i ørknen, så han ikke blev påvirket ved at se præsternes og rabbiners løse fromhed eller ved at lære deres leveregler og traditioner, hvorigennem rette principper blev forvansket og forklejnet. Dagens religiøse lærere var blevet så åndeligt forblændede at de knapt nok kunne erkende dydernes himmelske oprindelse. De havde værnet om stolthed misundelse og skinsyge, så længe at de fortolkede de gammeltestamentlige skrifter på en sådan måde at deres sande mening blev ødelagt. Det var Johannes' valg at give afkald på bylivets nydelser og luksus for ørkenens strenge disciplin. Her var omgivelserne gode for enkelhed og selvfornægtelse. Uhæmmet af verdens glans, kunne han, på det sted studere naturens lektier, åbenbarelse og forsyn. Englens ord til Zakarias var ofte blevet gentaget for Johannes af hans gudfrygtige forældre. Fra hans barndom af, var hans mission blevet fremholdt for ham og han antog det hellige hverv. For ham var ørkens ensomhed et velkomment tilflugtssted fra det samfund hvori mistanker, vantro og urenhed var så godt som blevet fuldstændig. Han havde mistillid til sin egen magt til at modstå fristelser og uddrog sig hele tiden kontakt med synd, for at han ikke skulle miste fornemmelsen for dets overmåde store syndighed.