If you accepted Jesus at ten-years old and grew up in a loving Christian home, you probably think your testimony doesn’t hold as much weight as someone who came to Jesus later in life. It is a common assumption, but it is wrong.
Many people have said to me that they wished they had a “powerful” testimony like mine, but without the regret and pain, they wisely add. The common argument goes something like this:

Listen to this. A young man in his 20’s came to one of our REALITY youth meetings a couple of years ago and shared his testimony. He came to Jesus at an early age. He never wavered. He lived for Jesus as best as he could growing up. He is pursuing ministry today.
This young man gave one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard.

Turning your youth over to Jesus instead of squandering it on the world is a more powerful testimony than one like mine. Every time you had to make a choice that went against the desires of your friends or of culture, you suffered. When you turned down an invitation to drink alcohol, or use drugs, or look at explicit material because the Holy Spirit told you it was wrong, you suffered. When you were encouraged to disobey your parents and you walked away, you suffered. The world tried to seduce you, entice you into taking a little taste, but you resisted for the sake of the testimony, the legacy you were creating—a life honoring Jesus.

The rest of us took the easy way out. We gave in to the world’s demands and its subtle suggestions. What we suffered, we endured with pride because we created it. We denied Jesus while casually accepting there might be a God because we didn’t have the guts to be utterly hopeless.
Then, out of the mess we made of our lives, Jesus, in His infinite mercy, spoke to our hearts, and we believed. Often, our salvation came only when we arrived at the end of ourselves. We created so much suffering that our bodies and minds couldn’t bear the weight any longer. Jesus met us there.
Looking back at those lost years, where all of our hope came from squeezing as much pleasure out of life as we could, I see only one thing—REGRET.
I long for a youth that was lived for Jesus and the hope He offers the world. Instead, I wasted it on myself. What a pity.

The young person who has lived, or is living, their life for Jesus will not regret his or her youth. It is the best and most meaningful life to live. You are planting seeds in your acquaintances that you may never see grow, but they are there, resting beneath the surface and waiting for the rotten fertilizer of selfish satisfaction to decompose and allow them to sprout and grow.
Stay strong in your faith and be faithful to your convictions. You have a team of people who made the wrong choices, who are praying for you, and who can’t wait to hear your testimony. Then we will come up to you and say, “Wow, that was powerful.”

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.