Be the Example
Have you ever felt too young—or too old—to do something important? Too small for a big job? Too inexperienced to contribute something meaningful? Too underqualified to make a real difference?
In the book of 1 Timothy, which is a God-inspired letter from Paul to his “son in the faith,” Timothy, Paul equips and encourages Timothy in things like doctrine, leadership, and living out the ways of God. He writes:
“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.”
1 Timothy 4:12 NIV
If you’ve ever felt too young, remember that God has purposefully put you here, at this specific time in history. He wants to use your passion, drive, vision, energy, and ideas to magnify His glory. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that's a great thing.
If you’ve ever felt too old, remember that God has purposefully put you here, at this specific time in history. He wants to use your learned wisdom, grit, leadership, discernment, and life experience to point others to Him. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that's a great thing.
You are never too young or too old to be used by God.
No matter your age, God has empowered you to love Him and to love others, and to live a life that points people to Him. How can you do that? You can set an example—in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you love, in the way you live out your faith, and in your purity.
You can be the example.
You can represent Him.
Are You Ready?
The greatest measure of who we are and what we love is how we spend our time.
Where do you spend most of your time? Most of us spend the majority of it with family, at work, or on hobbies. All of those are important things that we should invest in. But Jesus says there’s another thing that we need to spend time doing.
There are a lot of different ideas people have for when Jesus will return, but ultimately, Jesus says that nobody will know the time and date. He will come at a time when we least expect Him.
So until He does come, He says that we should be ready. We tend to spend most of our time working on finding the right career, or pursuing certain relationships, or building wealth and possessions. And yet, none of those things will prepare us for when Jesus returns.
So what can we do to prepare?
The first thing is to put your faith in Jesus, by believing that He gave His life so that you could have eternal life. Next, commit to spending time with Him, confessing your ...