The Wisdom in Youth
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
How many times have we, as adults of the church, looked at our young adults and thought, "They're just kids". Well, in some ways they still are. However, they are our future leaders and we need to see them as such.
I often look back at pictures we took at our youth outings over the past decade. It's amazing to see how our kids have grown and matured. God has truly blessed our church with kids.
In the verse above, Paul is cautioning Timothy that many church elders are older than he is and may not heed his words without evidence of his spiritual maturity. Timothy is charged with displaying a godly countenance, speech, and the faith that will provide to them spiritual leadership and example to follow.
Who would you have more confidence in? A young person that displayed a lack of spiritual maturity, with youthful arrogance who's focus was not on holy matters but rather on self-gratification or a young person that sought God's will and behaved accordingly to the faith they were attempting to instill in others?
Now, don't get me wrong. We are ALL human and stumble from time to time. We cannot expect our young leaders to be perfect in everything they do. However, with the same encouragement that Paul gave young Timothy, our young people can continue to grow in their spiritual maturity to become great church leaders.
Spend time with one of the many future church leaders we have among us. Encourage them and share your heart with them. Invest in their lives so they can see an example to follow just as Timothy had.
And then, love their youthful zeal!
C
How many times have we, as adults of the church, looked at our young adults and thought, "They're just kids". Well, in some ways they still are. However, they are our future leaders and we need to see them as such.
I often look back at pictures we took at our youth outings over the past decade. It's amazing to see how our kids have grown and matured. God has truly blessed our church with kids.
In the verse above, Paul is cautioning Timothy that many church elders are older than he is and may not heed his words without evidence of his spiritual maturity. Timothy is charged with displaying a godly countenance, speech, and the faith that will provide to them spiritual leadership and example to follow.
Who would you have more confidence in? A young person that displayed a lack of spiritual maturity, with youthful arrogance who's focus was not on holy matters but rather on self-gratification or a young person that sought God's will and behaved accordingly to the faith they were attempting to instill in others?
Now, don't get me wrong. We are ALL human and stumble from time to time. We cannot expect our young leaders to be perfect in everything they do. However, with the same encouragement that Paul gave young Timothy, our young people can continue to grow in their spiritual maturity to become great church leaders.
Spend time with one of the many future church leaders we have among us. Encourage them and share your heart with them. Invest in their lives so they can see an example to follow just as Timothy had.
And then, love their youthful zeal!
C
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We are so blessed! I am so proud of our youth and am getting to experience growth in them also. I'm sure you have noticed so much more in a decade and one day I can say the same. I remember Benjamin being in Denise's class with Madison and have had the honor to watch him grow and am excited for him to find Gods plan for his life! And Matthew! Our precious Matthew! All I can say is wow! Kyle, Madison, Lucus, Mariah, Jordan who has found Gods plan and moved on with many others, Devon, Melonie and Abby who have joined and those coming up behind them-Lane, Brantley and Kameron! So many more. I am so proud of our church!!