Faith Filled Family Magazine September 2016 | Page 88
THERE ARE NO AGE LIMITS ON
DIVINE ACCELERATION
By Clive McLaren
R
efute the belief that
a person is too old to
make a difference for
God- that this notion is
for the young.
If any Christian sincerely thinks
they, or older people in general
are unable to make a difference
to God then this article s just
for them. Such a belief actually
makes little sense from the Biblical narrative; with so many stories about men and women who
seemed to be at the peak of their
achievements both personal
and for God’s purposes, at a ripe
old age. We will look at some
examples, but first let us explore
the idea that youth is where it all
happens from a Christian perspective.
could it have been the heart’s
response to His calling?
There are some wonderful stories of God choosing young
people to do his work. David
slew Goliath because of his
unquestioning faith in God’s
power and sovereignty, whilst
older men apparently shrank
back in fear of the Philistine
giant. Joseph, Daniel and his
three friends, Isaiah, Mary and
Timothy are all youthful models
of faith, courage and loving obedience to God. And of course the
ultimate young servant of God
was Jesus, who at about 30-33
years of age changed and saved
the world forever. However, do
you suppose it was ‘age’ that
determined God’s choice; or
Rom 10:10 ‘for with the heart
a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation.’
Could this premise actually arise
from a cultural fallacy? The focus
of success in our western society
is often through the lens of children and young people. Through
sport, movies, pop music and
fashion we see the young full of
energy, talent, good looks and
charisma. We idolise our young,
they are told they can achieve
anything, be anything they want
to be, all they have to do is ‘go
for it’. However many are then