I've done many things to make myself available to people who need the Lord with
the intentional purpose of giving the gospel message when opportunities arise. I
have served as a bus-driver, helper at a free-lunch program, and as a substitute
school teacher. It is in this last venue that the Lord sent me to a child who
taught me a valuable lesson.
My substitute teacher assignments often sent me to special education or
behavior-disorder classrooms. Great opportunities to show that you care about
someone as a person and reflect God's love. In one memorable assignment, I had a
class of one - an eight-year-old boy named David. The lesson plan for that
morning was not challenging, that is, not for you or me. David needed to learn
collating. His assignment was to learn how to pick up papers from ten stacks,
one at a time, in order, straighten the little bundle and staple it. We had all
morning to help David master this exercise and then he was allowed to color as a
reward. As I prepared to meet David, I wondered in my heart how I could convey
God's message to him.
As I entered the classroom, David immediately greeted me. He said cheerfully
"Hi! My name is David. What's yours?" I did not know it yet, but today david
would be the teacher and I would be the student. David was teaching me about
soul-winning in four sentences. This first sentence taught me that names matter.
Jesus calls us each by name. How can you have a close relationship with someone
whose name is a mystery?
The second sentence said everything about David and his anxiety about our time
together. It is not so much what he said but how he said it. With a face deep
with compassion and a deep searching gaze into my eyes, he asked "Do you know
God?" For David, it was clear that the quality and substance of time we would
spend together hinged on my answer. He really wanted to know about my
relationship with God, because it mattered so much to him. He wanted to know
about my relationship with God because it affected David's relationship with me.
His inquiry was a voicing of his profound concern for MY soul! My soft answer
"Yes, David, I know God." Brought a flood of relief and joy to his face. But he
wasn't done teaching me about God's ways.
The third sentence David spoke to me was "What will we be doing today, Mr.
Sapper?" He was teaching me that what we do in the short-term within our
relationship to each other and to God matters. He wanted to spend it well. His
fourth sentence sealed the lesson, because when he uttered it I knew that my
lesson had come from God through the lips of this child.
The fourth sentence extended the commitment for a relationship beyond a
short-term interaction to a long-term commitment. I feel certain he would have
asked the same question even if my answer to his second question were negative.
David invited "Would you like to come to church with me sometime? I'd really
like that!" He was teaching me that a relationship with a loving God is
something that is not only to be shared, but on which we build long-term
relationships. God makes a life-long investment in us. We should be prepared to
do the same for each other, for those we invite and those we disciple. Jesus
said "I will never leave you or forsake you."
Gary Sapper preacher@udnet.net
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