AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

           What is the Age of Accountability? Growing up in the Baptist Church, I understood it to mean the age when a child is old enough to choose Jesus for himself or herself.
           It is my opinion that Jesus receives little children. I know He received me at the age of nine. Also because He says: “Let the little children come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14).
           When you get older and have a little more time, words like “accountability” take on more meaning than just to answer the question: “When is the time that a child is old enough to receive salvation, be baptized, and join the church?”
           At the time of Salvation, each of us become “accountable” to God, our Heavenly Father. The child’s main accountability at this point in the world is to obey his/her godly, earthly parents. The parents are accountable to God to love their children and teach them about their Heavenly Father and how He holds Himself accountable to care for them.

           At the time of Salvation, even a child becomes a new person with a supernatural desire to do good and not evil. (2 Corinthians 5:17). But many children have not been taught about ‘loving accountability’ to God above everyone and everything else.

           Life moves on. Your children grow up and have their children. At what point along the way did you decide (or will you decide when the time is right) to allow them to be accountable to God instead of being accountable to you? When, if ever, will you be willing to let God cut your spiritual apron strings…and allow others to be accountable to God for themselves?
           When God brings you to this awareness it removes a lot of pressure from your emotional, striving prayers for your family. It takes away much judgment and hours of trying to figure out on your own, (or excessive reasoning) about how to pray for them…measuring their progress and standards by your own perspective.
           Our Father says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5).
           “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Not each other.)

Let us not therefore judge one another any more:” (Romans 14:12, 13a).

           As a child of God, His SEED remains in us and we have the supernatural “want to”, to please God and remain at peace with Him.
           Accountability to God, I believe, is not following a set of rules and regulations which God knows are impossible for us to keep. Rather, it is a simple humility before God as we each come on our own before Him, recognizing His Lordship over each of us. It’s being honest before God, asking Him to be our Strength when we are weak. Then BELIEVING that He will!
           I picture “Loving Accountability” as showing up on time for class; sitting at the desk as near to the teacher as we can, just because we “want to”. Our ears are hungry to hear what He will teach us each day.
           It all begins with acknowledging His Presence in every part of our life. It can be as easy as saying each morning:

“Good Morning Father.”
“Good Morning Jesus.”
“Good Morning Holy Spirit.”
“This is the day that You have made. I am rejoicing and glad in it.”

           If you have experienced the Peace that comes from being honest before God…knowing that He delights more in your honesty than all the good works you have done to win His favor, you have learned how to be “accountable” to God for yourself.
           Now is the time to allow others to be accountable for themselves to God…not to you. If they have not ASKED you to pray for them about something specific…then don’t make up things to pray for…other than that they hear from God for themselves. Then if we ASK God for this, we must BELIEVE that they will. Of course you always pray as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray and that is a big part of your accountability to God:   Hearing and obeying. I just found myself, taking on a lot of “accountability” that was not mine, but someone else’s. So it lightens my prayer load when I allow each of us to take our own share.
           Aside from legalistic “accountability”, I believe God desires our love, fellowship, honesty, and acceptance of what Christ did for us at the Cross. 
           So, whatever physical age we may be when we recognize the “Age of Accountability” …for ourselves and for others, there will be a freeing up in our emotions and added power to our prayers.
           Just ‘think about it’. What does the “Age of Accountability” mean to you? That’s what is important. Have you reached that age? Have your children? Have others you have been praying for? Only you and God will recognize the answers to that. I BELIEVE He will reveal it to us when we ASK.