2 Kings chapter 22 verses 1-6 (NIV)
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.”
Josiah was only eight years old when he became king. His father didn’t follow God. Yet by the time he was 26, in the eighteenth year of his reign, we can see already how much his heart was towards the things of God.
That means that others must have had a real Godly influence over the young boy to encourage him to grow into the man of God he would become. We don’t read much about who they were.
It got me thinking about our responsibility to encourage and mentor others so that they grow into the person that God intends them to be. That may be the young people in our church, like Josiah. Or it could be someone that has newly come to faith. Do we live out our lives in a way that encourages them to follow God? We certainly don’t want to set a bad example that may turn anyone away from God.
Dear Lord,
I pray that I might set a good example for those young of age and young in faith, that might encourage them to grow into the men and women of God that You want them to be. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.