Now is Your Time!

Leviticus 27:1-8  

2  If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the LORD by giving the equivalent value,

3  set the value of a male between the ages of 20 and 60 at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel;

4  for a female, set her value at thirty shekels;

5  for a person between the ages of 5 and 20, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels;

6  for a person between 1 month and 5 years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver;

7  for a person 60 years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.

At first glance, this portion of Scripture might seem unfair.  After all, aren’t we all valuable in God’s eyes, regardless of our age and gender?  However, for a person being dedicated to the LORD for His service, one should consider how many years of fruitful service he or she can give to God, one’s physical stamina or health, level of wisdom/knowledge/education, and a host of other factors.  Between the ages of 1 month to 5 yrs old, the baby/child will have much to learn and grow and require lots of care and nurture.  Between the ages of 5 to 20 yrs old, the child/teenager will continue to acquire Biblical teaching, wisdom and knowledge, start to serve in some capacity, and possess tons of energy!  The older adult at 60+ yrs old will accumulate the most wisdom and knowledge of any age group, but his/her physical stamina and health will be declining.  I find it interesting and sobering that the greatest value set for a person, male or female, was between the ages of 20 to 60 years.  This age group encompasses the older college student, career young adult, young couple, young parent, middle-aged adult parent, even the empty nester and young grandparent, right up to near retirement. 

·             God called Jeremiah for His service, probably while in his teens (Jeremiah 1: 1-9), and he served God and prophesied faithfully to the end of his life. 

·             God called David to be the shepherd over His people, and he became king at age 30 (2 Samuel 5:4-5) and served for 40 years until his death. 

·             God called Joseph at age 30 to become second-in-command to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46), and he served God faithfully until his death at age 110 (Genesis 50:24-26).  

·             God called some notable preachers such as Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur, D. L. Moody, William Carey, etc. while in their teens/early 20’s, and they served God for the rest of their lives. 

·             God called my husband’s mentor, Dr. Russ Rosser, to preach in his late teens, and he’s still preaching in his older adult years. 

·             God called a young adult who grew up in our church to become a full-time missionary to Japan.  He’s now 25 yrs old.  He’ll be giving his best years to serve God in the mission field.

I grew up in the church back in the Midwest and was baptized when I was 16 years old.  God had called me to be a pastor’s wife at age 24, and now I’ve been living this calling for more than 25 yrs, making a lot of mistakes and learning along the way.  When I was in my mid 30’s, God called me to start Awana children’s Bible club at my church, and this calling required much prayer, physical stamina, creativity, faith, recruiting, training, and interaction.  I was also serving in many other ministries along with leading Awana for 7 years.  When I handed off my leadership position to another co-worker, I knew physically that I could not handle this responsibility anymore, even though some of my older clubbers begged me to stay on. Right now, I felt that God is not telling me to serve in the extent that I was before, but rather to equip others to serve.  It’s still very fruitful service, but different than in my younger years.

What am I trying to say?  If you’re between 20 and 60 yrs old, you are at your “peak” in both physical and mental capacity.  God may be preparing you to serve Him in your childhood and teenage years, and then you’ll really be bearing spiritual fruit in your 20’s to your 60’s.  I remembered an old hymn that states “Give of your best to the Master, give Him the strength of your youth.”  These are the best years of your life.  Are you going to give the best to God?  Now is your time to serve the LORD!