As a teenager, I always dreaded “testimony time” at our Baptist church in Chicago. I literally had the worst, most boring testimony in the world. I asked the Lord into my heart when I was very young and enjoyed going to church and tried to obey my parents. I would sit in the pew thinking about what I could say to impress the audience while others would get up and tell how they were saved from alcoholism or a life of debauchery. I recall just sitting there feeling frustrated and usually said nothing.
One Sunday evening, a visiting missionary was asked to give his testimony. It was a miraculous account of how God completely turned his life around and how his experiences led him to the mission field. When he took questions, I stood up and asked how could I effectively share my faith since I wasn’t saved from anything horrible like he was. He gently corrected my perspective by first saying that he only wished the Lord would have saved him at an early age because it would have saved him from many years of pain and heartbreak due to his sinful choices, but he also said that my sins were just as bad as his because any sin, not matter how “small,” offended God who was holy and just. Christ’s shed blood wipes out all sins for those who repent and there is no such thing as a big or small sin.
I was reminded of this when I heard a recent Share Life Today. John Sorensen told a story about the great evangelist, D. L. Moody, who was asked as he was leaving an evangelistic meeting, “How many were saved tonight?” Moody replied, “Two and a half.” DL Moody’s friend wondered too so he said, “You mean two adults and one child!” But Moody wisely replied, “Two children and one adult!” You see, he understood that when children come to Christ, they have their whole life ahead of them. John encouraged the listeners not to forget to teach kids how to evangelize. Children often have a passion and zeal for Christ that is unmatched by adults.
As Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. If we evangelize our children and they accept Christ as their Savior early on, they may be able to share the best testimony of all: Jesus Christ’s faithfulness throughout their entire life.
