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Kids are not the church of tomorrow; they are
part of the church of today. You do not have to
grow up to serve the Lord. Kids in the Bible didn’t grow up first. Many served the
Lord effectively BEFORE they ever grew up.
Josiah became king at eight years of age. Shortly after, he began to go through Israel
smashing idols and leading a return to God. The nation turned around because one kid knew
he didn’t have to grow up first. Josiah was not interested in becoming a future
servant of God, he served God as a kid. The Bible calls him the best king Israel ever had.
A young servant girl walked up to rich, powerful Syrian commander
Naaman and
suggested that he travel to Israel where Elisha would minister healing to his leprosy on
behalf of God. Naaman agreed and the rest is Biblical history. When Jesus launched His
ministry in Luke 4 he referred to two Old Testament stories and one of them was the
healing of Naaman. All of that happened because a little girl didn’t wait until she
grew up to serve God.
Samuel, a young boy brought to the temple by his mother, heard God’s voice reveal
the fate of Israel while Eli, the high priest, seemed oblivious to the danger Israel
faced. A kid, not the high priest, heard God’s voice.
Could there have been anyone else in the crowd
of over 5000 who brought lunch the day
Jesus taught the vast group? A boy stepped up and offered his lunch in faith, enabling
Jesus to multiply it to the mass of people. If the boy had waited to grow up first there
would have been a lot of hungry people that day.
David slaying Goliath is the classic example. A shepherd boy takes on Goliath in front
of the adults. When David was through, Goliath never bothered anyone again. Even though
David stood on God’s covenant, faced a giant and won; he was still a kid.
Mary and Joseph found Jesus at twelve years of age in the temple "about His
Father’s business." That’s the objective: to bring kids to a place where
they are "about their Father’s business" BEFORE they grow up.
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