Never Too Young

READ: 1 SAMUEL 3:1-10; 2 KINGS 5:1-5; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:27; GALATIANS 5:13-14

Do you ever feel too young to do anything important for Jesus? Sometimes, when we hear stories of people traveling overseas as missionaries, or becoming foster parents, or starting a career they sensed God guiding them into…we can be left wondering, What about me? Though we may love Jesus and want to follow Him with our lives, it can feel like all we’re able to do during our teen years is wait and prepare to be an adult.

But that’s not how God sees us. Just look at the Bible—there are teenagers and even kids who served God. For example, in 2 Kings 5 we find an Israelite girl who was taken captive by raiders from Aram, and she became a servant to Naaman’s wife. But when Naaman had leprosy, this girl said the prophet Elisha could cure him. Because of her compassion and her courage to speak up, Naaman journeyed to Israel, found Elisha, and was cleansed from the deadly skin disease. Then Naaman became a worshipper of the one true God (verse 15).

And in 1 Samuel 3, we see that Samuel was only a boy when he “served the LORD by assisting Eli [the priest]” (verse 1). One night while he was sleeping in the Tabernacle, young Samuel heard God call to him! Samuel listened and shared the message God gave him. As he grew up, he continued to be attentive to how God was calling him to serve in his community.

No matter how old we are, as Christians, we’re a part of God’s kingdom and family. Since we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we all have the same Holy Spirit. As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” The Holy Spirit equips us to share Jesus’s love in our words and actions wherever we are. Maybe you could pray for a friend, encourage a church leader, rake a neighbor’s leaves, help a sibling with something they’re struggling with, or look for ways to help members of your community who are experiencing homelessness. All of these loving acts of service can reflect how Jesus first loved us (1 John 4:19)—and none of them have to wait until you’re older. • A. W. Smith

• What are some practical ways you could show Jesus’s love to others by serving them? Consider taking a moment to pray and ask God to help you notice opportunities to serve the people in your community, church, or home…and write down anything that comes to mind.

And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)