Nor Tenure Lay Claim

Men scoffed that one so young could death commit,
Sneered at him unable Saul's armor hold;
But Goliath's end was changed not a bit,
The rock uncaring David young or old!
Spellbound, He held the gray-bearded sages
Late on the temple porch, in deep discourse,
Explaining mysteries of the ages,
Though yet under His parents' care perforce!
And did not the fate of man's troubled race
Depend upon the matchless love of One
But three decades from the womb's safe embrace,
His ministry only three years begun?
Let not you oldsters disdain infancy,
Nor tenure lay claim to supremacy!

A Baptist church I know of in another city once proposed a revision to their constitution that Christians below the age of 18 not be eligible to vote on decisions of the church, because they were "too young" to understand serious matters. The proposal failed, as it should have. I need to explain that each Baptist church is independent, free of supervision by any central authority. Their almost-universal policy is that any church member of whatever age is entitled to vote on any local church issue.

The Bible teaches that when an individual professes a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God comes to him and indwells for the rest of his life. (See Romans Chapter 8) He is then invited to join a Baptist church by being baptized. Thus he becomes a member of the church with full privileges and responsibilities of membership. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit functions as a guide or couselor that leads the new believer to change his inherited sin nature to one of spiritual nature, such as Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount; or that which Peter teaches in 2 Peter 1. Any member of a local church therefore is capable of voting maturely, at least theoretically. In practice, I'm afraid some members fail to utilize the gift of the Spirit, and some who committed did not change their sinful nature. Many church members may not be considered saved by God who looks inside the heart.

In the poem, David was a young shephrd boy who "naively" trusted God and volunteered to fight Goliath, the giant from Gath that came out every day and taunted the Jews to send a champion to fight him. No one, not even Saul, who was 7 feet tall, was brave enough to volunteer. David did, and he killed Goliath with his slingshot. Jesus, at age 12, went to the temple in Jerusalem with His parents. He was missing for two days after they started to go home. They found him talking on an equal footing with the priests of the temple. Being young is no handicap, if the person has God in his heart.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)

Paul taught his young protege Timothy to follow him in the ministry and cautioned him that his youth was not to be a handicap.