The Strength of Little Ones

Bible Reading: 1 TIMOTHY 4:12-14

It was a hot Sunday afternoon and Brandon, Bryan, and Mom were squatting beside a little anthill in their backyard. Their eyes followed the busy movements of each little ant as it carried crumbs up and down the anthill.

Suddenly Bryan, who had just turned five, looked up at Mom and said, “Guess what? My Sunday school teacher asked me to help her lead worship in our class next week!”

“That’s great, Bryan! I’m glad you have a heart to serve God,” Mom replied with a smile.

“Pshhh,” Brandon scoffed with an eye roll. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when Mom shook her head at him.

After a few more minutes of looking at the ants, Bryan went to play in the sandbox. When he was out of earshot, Brandon turned to his mom. “Bryan’s not really leading worship, is he? He’s not old enough! He can barely read and probably can’t pronounce any of the worship lyrics correctly.”

“Well, he’s not leading worship in the same way our worship pastor does in the main church service,” said Mom. “But he’s capable of helping his teacher choose which songs to sing in their Sunday school class and encouraging the other kids to sing.”

“But Mom, Bryan is barely five,” Brandon argued.

“He can still use his gifts to serve the Lord,” Mom replied. “God gives everyone the ability to serve Him and give Him glory, no matter how old they are. In the Bible, Paul tells Timothy not to let anyone look down at him because he was younger than everyone else.”

Mom looked at the anthill. “Look at it this way,” she said, pointing to the ants. “Ants are one of the smallest animals on land, yet they are still capable of doing many things. Their capability might not be as apparent as, let’s say, an elephant, but if you observe closely, you’ll see ants are actually very strong for their size. Likewise, we shouldn’t underestimate Bryan’s capability just because he’s young. Jesus can use him to do important things.”

“Hmm,” Brandon said as he watched the ants carry crumbs as big as they were up the anthill. “Maybe I should go ask Bryan what songs he wants to sing next week.” LILLIAN HSIAO

How About You?

Do you look down on those younger than you and think they can’t serve Jesus like you can? Or maybe people look down on you because you are young. Know that God gives each of us the ability to serve Him at any age. No matter what stage of life you or anyone else is in, we can all use the gifts God has given us to serve Him and point people to Jesus.

Today’s Key Verse:
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. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

You can serve God at a young age