27/03/2026
I had a vivid, thoughtful moment some years back while in school, a photographic experience of the mind that I still can't shake, and when I really think about it, my foolishness becomes more and more obvious to me.
It was a hot afternoon. I had just finished school and headed back into town, where I stayed. My destination was the beans and plantain bukka of my favourite seller at the time. I ordered a plate with a large bottle of Pepsi and a medium-sized bread to go with it. A meal that settled the matter of lunch and dinner for me, this was one of the highlights of my day when I stayed in that area.
It was a particularly hot afternoon, the sun scorched the earth and was bright enough to pe*****te the pupils of a blind man.
I remembered because immediately I stepped out of the bukka, as I glanced at the sky, I heard this question in my mind "𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙?" My response at the time was "𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩". I was yet to explore life to the fullest according to my own estimations.
This I would come to later understand as the boss level of foolishness that anyone can truly express.
I am certain that I am not alone in this experience. You see, I had this mindset that only the elderly should serve the Lord, I thought that youthfulness was not proper for the service of God, an obvious testament to my ignorance of the Holy Writ.
I also convinced myself that I can never be Pastored by a young person, I was sure that a minister had to be elderly to be used of God, but I was wrong.
During one of our meetings, my father told us not to be deceived by the media and social media which keep showing the other side of life being lived by everyday young people making it appear as though there are more young people in clubs and the streets, than in Church. This is a classical tool of deception by the devil, the media being his most valuable tool in this generation.
More young people are serving the Lord Jesus today!
In some places, it is strange to see young persons pastoring large congregations, sometimes even married young couples crave for local churches to be pastored by elderly persons. They believe that it is only ministers of a certain age, who can Pastor them effectively. More serious, is when the minister is not yet married. You find people who are quick to ask "𝙄𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙" rather than, "𝙄𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙". It seems as though we've found ourselves in a generation that is more concerned about religious optics than the accurate knowledge of God's Word.
I've had people say concerning my father, "𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙤, 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙?", Another said to me, "𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙣", apparently in his mind, I am doing a paid media job. Well, I guess I'm still on the job.
You know, my father said to us some years back, that religion leaves no room for thinking, that's why you see people of whom there is a presumption in their favour that they finished SSCE, speaking as though they were born without the capacity to think.
Maybe, it never occurred to them to think that some of the older ministers we have today started as young persons who had the strong hand of God upon them. Some of them do not know any other way of life than ministry.
I must make it clear, at this point, that I am by no means making a case for the so-called "𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨" of our time who have engaged in ministry as a way of escaping poverty, giving rise to several pervasions of the Lord's Work and taking undue advantage of their members in ways that cringe the mind. God can use anyone regardless of age, but one can do more in God as a youth, full of strength and vigour.
Take Jesus Christ for instance, we have a record of Him in the bible where at age 12, he was already in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions, the bible records that at that age, everyone who heard him was astonished at his understanding and answers.
This was just Jesus at age 12!
What is popularly known in many circles about Him is his 3 years of public ministry which he started at about 30 years old. His familiarity with the prophetic scriptures and knowledge of the law of Moses will reveal to any right-thinking person, that His early years were not wasted. In fact, it would require one with His strength to teach at the stretches which He did, on multiple occasions.
Samuel, David, and Daniel all served God in their youth. When we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we shouldn't fail to see that they were teenagers who gave their youth to the Lord, they jeopardised their lives for the Work. The king even sought to take advantage of their youth by instructing that they be mentored and trained to serve in the palace affairs.
You don't seek to mentor an old person.
Timothy who was Paul's protege was a teenager who came to know the Lord at a very young age and Paul acknowledged that in his words to him when he wrote to him - "2 Timothy 3:15; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."'
So, Timothy was a already a sound student of the bible from his childhood and when he would become a fine young man, pastoring and overseeing several churches, Paul will come to him again, this time, asking him to be bold in his calling - "1 Timothy 4:12; Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
All through the Bible, you will find out that the men who were mightily used of God to shape their generations and time, were young people.
So, whenever I look back to that afternoon coming out from the bukka, with the question in my mind, when will you serve the Lord, all I see is my foolishness playing out in real time. Sometimes it takes me into sober reflection, other times, I just laugh hard, at my 50 shades of shame!
Arthur Godsplan.
The Work Shall Be Done!
