Every parent wonders about the age when their child is ready to make the commitment to follow Christ. Jesus was perhaps extraordinary as a twelve-year-old child when He stood in the temple and taught the Word with great wisdom. “And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2L47). I have known a lot of twelve year olds who were not ready to be teaching in the temple. But I have also known some young teens who believed in God and were well-versed in Scripture. Maybe they are at the age that they can make a commitment to follow Christ. Josiah, the boy king of Israel, was a very spiritual young man. He became king at the age of eight. And, “in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David;…” (2 Chron. 34:3). Josiah was a remarkable young man and my experience says he would not represent the majority of people, but there is no reason that a normal 16-year-old should not be ready to make such a commitment to God. I have known 16-year-olds who have this kind of zeal. We have examples in Scripture and we have seen examples of youths who are already demonstrating it.

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