The “Rasta” man, named Devoh, who lives on the street and whom we often pass by, went on to have a lengthy conversation with me. I shared with him how Jesus loves him and knows what he’s going through, but this man had been burned by many who claimed to believe in Jesus. “How can they keep on doing such bad things and say to be following Jesus?” I did my best to explain that Jesus was the only perfect one, and that we who followed Him are pretty miserable sinners. “Keep your eyes on Jesus,” I tried to tell him. “He died for you and rose again so you can have the promise of Heaven when you die.” The longer we talked, the deeper his Patois got, and some of what he “preached” to me about was lost to my ears. But I got the gist of what he was saying: “Save it for the children. I’m too old. Tell the children – they need to hear it, not me.”
I don’t know if my words changed Devoh’s thinking at all, although I pray the Holy Spirit will continue to work in his heart. But I do know that our conversation has had a lasting impression on me. “Tell the children.” How can we best share with the children of Jamaica?
In a country where marriage is becoming more and more rare, and where it’s not unusual for siblings to have different fathers, often growing up not even knowing their own father, how is the love of our committed, loving, Heavenly Father modeled to them? When some children are not brought to church because they don’t have “church” clothes, how do they learn of a God who looks only at their hearts and not their outward appearance? When others are beaten at home because their mothers learned by example that that is the way to discipline, how do they learn of a patient, gentle, compassionate Jesus, who longs to gather them in His arms?
I don’t know the answers, but I do know that we are trying to reach the children with God’s love . . . . VBS in the summer, Sunday school year round, youth group on Friday nights, devotions in schools . . . and we have even started a “Jr.” youth group, led by Kevin Williams and Eunice Florip, to minister to 8-12 year olds. Yes, there is more we can do and will do with the help of God!
Please pray with us for wisdom as to how to reach the young people of Jamaica! And as you look around you to the people God has brought into your life, I urge you also to make a special effort to, “tell the children!”
In His grace,
Bruce, Amy, Abigail, Gabriel