Unlimited: God Saves Young and Old
Jul 24, 2025 5498
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it (Hebrews 11:13, NLT).
We often think that the young have a monopoly on being idiots, but that’s not true! I made plenty of mistakes when I was young, and I continue to make mistakes today. Many people mistakenly believe that the young are responsible for most of the sinning in the world, and that older people must generally be sinning less.
In the Bible, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is a list of God’s heroes. But it’s also a great list of people who made their most significant mistakes when they were fully grown, and even elderly. Here are a few whom you may know: Abraham and Sarah, who disbelieved God multiple times; David the murderous adulterer; and that other impatient murderer, Moses. None of these were teenagers when they committed their sins.
God Saves From Sin
The old sin just as much as the young, but perhaps they’ve convinced themselves otherwise, or perhaps they’ve just learned to sin in different ways. The Apostle Paul says, “There is no difference… for all have sinned” (Romans 3:22–23).
That’s why it’s good to know that God isn’t “ageist”, and that his mercy and favour are for everyone who turns to him. No matter how badly you’ve stuffed things up or what stage of life you’re in, there’s still a place in God’s list of heroes for you.
Eli’s Reflection: With which Bible character do you identify the most? Despite the failures, what do you think was the one quality that helped that particular character be one of God’s heroes? How could you intentionally cultivate that quality in your own life?
Samuel Mbowe
Jul 24, 2020
Very touching and encouraging