ROOTED - Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Jeremiah 1:6-8

6 Then I said, “Ah,
Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a
youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

Reflection: A Young Prophet

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

Jeremiah
began his ministry when he was a boy. Scholars don’t know exactly how old, but
we do know that he was likely 13-20. The word used for “youth” is a word that
means that he is still under the care of his parents. He begins his ministry
under the reign of Josiah, who you may remember was 8 years old when he began
his reign, and he turned out to be one of the godliest and most effective
kings. Jeremiah served as a prophet of the Lord for more than forty years and
was as blunt and bold as any prophet in the Old Testament. In the face of
Babylonian exile, he spoke against the wicked rulers of Judah and Israel and
did so with little fear.

I marvel to read the first few chapters of the book of Jeremiah. With the
boldness of a true man of God he speaks against Israel, saying, “Because she
took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery
with stone and tree.” He says:

By
the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers

    like an Arab in the wilderness.

You have polluted the land

    with your vile whoredom.

Therefore the showers have been withheld,

    and the spring rain has not come;

yet you have the forehead of a whore;

    you refuse to be ashamed.

I am not sure there are stronger words by a prophet in the Old Testament record. And
importantly, he is a boy!! I feel strongly that we, sadly, treat our
young people as incapable of taking their walk with God seriously. Often, we
don’t even speak to our children in terms of the “calling” of God on their
lives. We treat them like kids, incapable of honoring God with their whole
lives. We treat their relationship with God without the seriousness it demands.
The fallout of this is that they are never encouraged to reach high to genuine
godliness. Jeremiah’s example tells us that young people can, indeed, honor God,
live pure and holy lives, and call their peers and adults to righteous living
with bold confidence in the Lord. My encouragement is that we do not
infantilize our kids in the Christian faith, but that we have them reach high
toward the upward call of God on their lives.

Prayer

Heavenly
Father, call the young people around us to the high calling you have for them,
and use us to encourage that commitment in them.