That perfect look of joy blanketing her face. The sign first warmly greeting the reader, and then proclaiming with reckless abandon that she in fact LOVES JESUS and so should anyone who encounters the sign. Welcome to playground evangelism, where a 13 year old girl, without fear or embarrassment, is capable of sharing with the children and the parents in the surrounding area how much she loves Jesus.
Last week, the students I work with in the after school program decided they wanted to go outside and play in the park. Each Wednesday, one of the students is given the opportunity to lead a devotional, or short bible study with guidance from one of the adults. I had been sent a box of tissue paper for use in making decorations for an upcoming volunteer appreciation dinner and one of the kiddos promptly deconstructed the box as soon as the contents had been removed. Working with a furious enthusiasm, she grabbed some markers and began decorating the box, attached some string, and voila a new evangelism tool had been made!
As she walked around the park, she shared her joy and enthusiasm for Christ with such ease. It was remarkable to see young and old people respond to her sign. In the Gospels, Jesus sends out his apostles to spread the good news. He tells them to "enter a house and stay until they depart. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet." The apostles leave proclaiming repentance to all those who would listen. Nearly 2000 years later the experience of disciples like my kiddo remains very similar to that which is described in the Bible. Some were so encouraged by her sign and message, others were quick to tell her they knew she loved Jesus, so why did she need to tell everybody?
Several amazing things happened over the course of the afternoon. One, every ten or fifteen minutes, she would pick a spot in the park, smile, and loudly shout, I LOVE JESUS AND SO SHOULD YOU! This was done with such genuine enthusiasm that many of the people surrounding her could not help but smile. Other peers joined her from time to time and shouted along. At one point, she grabbed me and asked me to join her for her next shout. I smiled and agreed, but when the time came and we counted to three, the volume level I reached could hardly compare to hers. She was quick to criticize me and put me in place, reminding me I was not as loud as I was supposed to be. And in that moment, I realized I was not as loud because I was not as comfortable. Unlike my young sister in Christ, I was actually a little intimidated about screaming at the top of my lungs in the park.
Minutes passed and it was finally time for devotional. We gathered around the slide and jungle gym, seated in a circle on the floor as we were led by a 13 year old through one of the proverbs. And wouldn't you know it, after a little while, some of the other kids in the playground began to gather round and join in. They didn't share their thoughts, or even hang around very long, but they were intrigued by the group of kids seated in a circle. They wanted to know what was going on, and for a brief moment they heard some of the words of the Bible being read aloud in a place known for recreation. I looked around and thought about Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew he says, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." I was witnessing, firsthand, the little children gathering, curious to hear what was going on.
Then I thought about my own hesitation just fifteen minutes earlier to shout aloud how much I loved Jesus. What was preventing me from also proclaiming with reckless abandon how amazing His love is for me and for everyone else in the park. What had happened to my boldness for Christ? And then once again, Christ's own piercing words hit my heart when He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is really powerful. I have witnessed my own failures of proclaiming Christ at certain points in life. It is quite disappointing and the enemy often uses the guilt around that against us. I tend to beat myself over the head about it.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is cute that the kiddo was boldly making such a proclamation however I have thought about what Christ said about receiving the kingdom like a child and I reasoned that perhaps Christ was not requiring that we behave like children but to accept his kingdom like a child, innocently, lovingly and without fear or doubting.
I think we can both agree that when we are children what we do acceptably and easily without reproach isn't the same once we grow and I believe Christ understands when we don't scream at the tops of our lungs when we are older versus when we were children. Our hearts should only condemn us only if we really don't love Him but if we do then any guilt is a ploy of the enemy to steal our joy.