How Old Are You?
Ever come across a child in the grocery store who is outgoing and willing to strike up a conversation with you? It’s happened to me many times, especially when I have my own kids with me. The conversation usually wanders from the toy they’re holding to their shirt (which is their favorite color), and eventually we get to their age. As a mom with littles (ages 5 and under), I was fairly confident in my age guessing skills.
One time, I guessed that a little boy was 3 years old. He gave me a horrified and disgusted look! “I am FOUR!” he exclaimed, with his four tiny digits in the air to prove it to me. His mother informed me that he had just turned four, so I wasn’t far off in my assumption. But I felt badly that the little boy thought that I thought he was younger.
Don’t we do that too? When we have a major accomplishment or something happen in our lives, we want people to notice that we’ve grown, changed, improved, and are a little bit older and wiser. We want the recognition and we may not be horrified or disgusted like this little boy was, but it does crush our spirits a little… or a lot.
Paul writes to the church at Colossae “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (v.23-24). He is speaking to the family unit in the verses before, addressing husbands, wives, children, and servants. This is how he wraps up the passage - by encouraging us that no matter our station, we do what pleases God and we will receive our eternal reward in Heaven.
So my advice for you is simple:
Keep Jesus as your audience and focus.
Always guess older than you think a child is ;)
