When I was 11 and under the age of 11, I wanted to be 12. I felt like it was an insult to be called or treated as a 'young' person. I guess I was mistaking "young" with "foolish," or "someone who is not of as valuable as an older person." I cried secretly many times after someone told me I couldn't do something because I wasn't old enough, or because I was younger than them, or because they were dividing a group up into age categories, and I was put in the "under 12" section, etc. I probably even wrote a few journal entries about it.
And then I turned 12, and I could be considered a young adult. Now all my troubles went a way, right? Well, not really. I wanted to be 13. And then 14, and so on. In my mind, I had to get through the 12 and under years as quickly as possible so that I could be mature. I really didn't understand 1 Timothy 4:12.
I have changed my view on my age. Instead of being crushed every time someone mentions my age, I have taken 1 Timothy 4:12 to heart.
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ~ 1 Timothy 4:12.
Here is a good example of the verse above. Sarah Pierpoint was only 13 when her future husband, Jonathan Edwards, wrote this about her:
They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is loved of that Great Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this Great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and that she hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on Him. . . . [Y]ou could not persuade her to do any thing wrong or sinful, if you would give her all the world, lest she should offend this Great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and universal benevolence of mind; especially after this Great God has manifested himself to her mind. She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be always full of joy and pleasure. . . . She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have some one invisible always conversing with her.
Wouldn't you just love to have something like that written about you?
1 Timothy 4:12 gave me hope. I didn't have to wait till I was older to be wise! If I was going to be wise, I had to start getting wisdom right away. But I was puzzled how to do it. I knew I definitely didn't have strength enough in myself to accomplish it.
And then I found the verse in the Bible that says,
"Why is there in the hand of a fool the purchase price of wisdom, since he has no heart for it?" ~ Proverbs 17:16
Voila! There was the answer right there. God's Word is the purchase price of Wisdom - and I had it right in my hand! I had to ask myself if I really had the heart for God' Word. What a pity it would be if I had the purchase price of wisdom in my hand but had no heart for it!
I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. ~ Psalm 138:2
If God has magnified His Word above His Name, it deserves to be read, studied, meditated on, and memorized.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him, nothing was made that was made. ~ John 1:1-2