Are you ready to serve God?
God calls young people to do great things ... but you need to check your heart first.
The Apostle Paul founded almost all of the churches we read about in the New Testament.
He was a church-building, disciple-making, evangelistic machine!
If you're a Christian today, you can give a big thanks for Paul's work. But he didn't do it alone.
He had a particularly close friend and co-worker called Timothy—a young, timid guy Paul trained to help with his important work.
It's amazing that we still have a couple of the letters that Paul wrote to Timothy. And, 1 Timothy 4:12 is a classic summary of the life Paul wanted Timothy to live as he ministered to others. He wrote...
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
Are you young? Do you want to serve God? Then these commands are for you too. Let's take a close look at each one:
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young
The Bible has no problem with young people serving God... as long as they are mature and godly. Ecclesiastes 4:13 backs up this statement when it says, "Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning."
Don't let your age stop you from doing great things for your creator!
Set an example for the believers
Are you the sort of person others could look to and say, "I want to be like this guy/girl"?
Or do you have some work to do in the areas Paul mentioned, which include:
- Speech: Are you using your words wisely to build others up & point them to God? Or are you tempted to bring people down and seek attention for yourself?
- Conduct: Are you seeking to live a Christ-like life, and align your actions to God's expectations? What areas of your conduct do you need to work on?
- Love: Are you humble, concerned for others, looking out for their best interests even when it comes at a cost to you?
- Faith: Are you trusting deeply in the promises of God for your life, or are you trusting in money, success or fame to make you happy?
- Purity: Is your life characterised by purity or do you struggle to control your desires?
You can do it!
Do you see what Paul is saying to Timothy?
It doesn't matter about your age - what really matters is your heart and your actions.
If you're a young person seeking to serve God, then go for it! But when you do, make sure your life is an example to others, and that you are seeking to live for Christ and not for selfish ambition.
And if you know in your heart that you've got some big things to work on, ask God to help you become the sort of person he wants you to be... and work hard on becoming more like Jesus.
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