Those whom God has decided to use specially to instruct the church have been led to surrender themselves to the Lord when young. Saving grace may reach the soul at any period, and then surrender to the claims of Christ follows, but, as a rule, the best servants of Christ have been early converted and early led to yield their hearts and lives to Him. The result is that such have been more signally owned in the help of His people and the unfolding of His Word. There is a moral ground for this. If a man lives the best of his days in the gratification of his own pleasures and sets the will of God practically aside, must he not suffer the consequences in time, even though pardoned and brought to God? Grace may work wonders and lead an old man thus converted to accomplish great things. Yet when the young heart is won for Christ and has thereby escaped the deadening effects of sin, it is certainly more easily trained and taught and is therefore enabled to form a more correct judgment of truth, of things that differ, of those shades of meaning that call for a spiritual mind and a clear, undimmed eye.
Thus Saul was a “young man” when he was converted, and Timothy was a “youth”; so in the history of the church it will be found that the prominent teachers and distinguished leaders have been early found of the Lord. It is true that more than mere youth is needed. Our passage speaks of devotedness (1 Tim. 4:1515Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. (1 Timothy 4:15)). But a young heart devoted to Christ and seeking to sustain that devotedness is the heart that is used of Him.
This may well encourage the young. Sin is a dreadful master. Christ is worthy of our all. He died for us; He seeks our trust, our confidence, our love. He says, “Who will go for us?” He could send an angel; He would rather have you and me.
J. W. Smith