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Good morning, On Sunday my church celebrated the baptism of 19-year-old Ezra. I always find these occasions in which someone makes a public declaration of faith surrounded by their community – glorious. But for me, there’s something even more poignant when it’s a teenager who does so; choosing to stand out from the crowd in this way, defying many people’s expectations and assumptions about what – or who – a young person should be. A report by the Royal Society of the Arts last year, called Teenagency, showed just how little credit is given to teenagers by adults. The vast majority of young people said they want to help others. And despite two thirds of them having been involved in social action, just five per cent of adults thought these teenagers would have. Young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and the hundreds of thousands of children she has inspired around the world to engage in climate protests are among those countering negative perceptions of teenagers. Fifteen-year-old tennis star Coco Gauff is the latest teen to have unexpectedly shot to international stardom. The 15-year-old’s Wimbledon adventure came to an end yesterday after she lost to Simona Halep. But what a journey it was; with the teenager having beaten more experienced players including one of her idols Venus Williams. Young people who face obstacles much bigger than themselves – whether a Williams sister or climate change or the sheer weight of expectation society places on them – and choose to press ahead anyway, should inspire us all. The Bible is full of examples of young heroes – including the teenage David defeating the giant Goliath, and the brave Queen Esther who at 14 risked everything to save her people. To me, these are not just examples of young people doing great things but they tell me something about the nature of the kingdom of God – a place where the unexpected is the order of the day, where the heroes aren’t the obvious. Children and young people can help us see things more clearly, pointing the way to a greater and sometimes simpler truth. Less distracted by the worries of adulthood, they can tell it like it is. Like the biblical prophets, young people who bravely speak truth to power can help to nudge us out of our comfort, into discomfort and then spur us to action. These inspiring young people ultimately tell a story of hope. As theologian Walter Brueggemann writes, this hope “is an absurdity too embarrassing to speak about”… “It is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that the present to which we have all made commitments is now called into question.” Maybe this future hope – where giants are slain, good triumphs and the unexpected happens – is one we can all sign up to.