God doesn't look at age, He only looks at the ability and willingness to obey.

Last night we have what our church calls "The Uprising" in our youth group service.  This is a week where the entire service is run by the youth themselves.  They did worship, they did the welcome and announcements and they did the preaching.  It is a time to let them speak about and share Jesus directly to their peers from the stage.  As I was watching this last night I was amazed and comforted at the same time by the ability of these students to communicate the word of Jesus in front of their friends.  It made me begin to think about how much power comes with youth and how the world views it versus how God sees it.God sees youth as having power and instead of trying to speak to this point, I wanted to share some verses that prove this point.  Who better to prove the power of youth than the Word of God directly?The most famous and well known of these verses is from Timothy, who was young himself and being entrusted and trained by Paul with much responsibility.1 Timothy 4:12 - "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."Secondly, Jesus was very clear in letting the children be around Him.  He knew the importance of this generation and was open in telling that to His disciples.Matthew 19:14 - "Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."Finally there are plenty of instances in the bible where it is obvious that youth is not looked down upon. Younger individuals continually showed great strength and the ability to carry out God's will despite their age.1. Joseph the son of Jacob was made overseer in the house of the Captain of the Guard in Egypt when he was just 17. (Genesis 37:2; 39:1-4)2. David was only a boy when he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:42)3. Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king of Jerusalem, and he "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 34:1-2)4. Mary was a young woman when she was entrusted with the task of being mother to Jesus Christ. (Luke 1:26-33)5. Even Jesus Himself showed the ability to teach and have wisdom at the early age of 12. (Luke 2:41-52)I believe our youth truly have the ability to, as Paul said, "set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." Don't be one of the people that looks down on them just because they are young.  God doesn't wait for them to turn a certain age, so why do we?