Matching Red Soccer Jerseys

As hard as he tried to cover his ears, you could see that the sound the young boy was trying to keep at bay was still seeping through and attacking the center of his being. I could not see if his eyes were closed, but occasionally he would look up at the video screen that was showing a short film documenting the effects of hunger (and hunger relief) on children half way around the world. In the boy’s lap was a glass jar that held a few dollars and a handful of change. Around his shoulder was the gentle and comforting arm of his father. Taped to the lid of the jar was a small label that simply read “give.” A child of God trying to come to grips with the world in which he lives.

We had come to Feed My Starving Children as a group of ten adults and two children, hoping to have an impact on the lives of some of God’s little ones who are so easily ignored. And yes, we did prepare over 2100 meals, enough food to feed 6 children 3 meals a day for a year. But for me at least, the real power of the visit, the presence of Christ and his message, came to me through watching this young boy and his reaction to the plight of children just like him around the world.

Frequently, when we speak of Jesus’ words regarding his desire for us to become like little children, we lift up child-like characteristics like wonder, and gentleness, and purity of heart, and openness to the future as the traits that Jesus desires for us. But on this evening, Jesus’ words took on a new meaning as I watched the empathy and compassion of this child as he worked so hard to hold off the reality of the world in which he finds himself living. It was the powerlessness of this boy that really struck me, the only thing this small boy could do to end this reality was to cover his ears and bring his “give” jar.

But for you and for me, the big kids of God, we can do much more than cover our ears and bring a few dollars. We DO have the power to change lives and impact this reality. And not only do we have the power, we have a dual mandate to do so. This mandate comes first from Jesus himself and second from the generation of children who we are charged with raising and shepherding into the world in faith. As Christians, we are called to be obedient and faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ that compel us to feed people who are hungry. As parents and grandparents, we are called to provide a reality that does not cause a child to close his eyes and cover his ears.

When we had finished packing the meals, we gathered again to talk about the impact we had on behalf of a handful of hungry children around the world. The leader held up a picture of a small boy who lives in a 5 square mile open air dump in Managua, Nicaragua with 150 other families. The boy in the picture and the boy with the “give” jar looked to be about the same age and coincidently were both wearing red soccer jerseys. Two children of God, separated by miles and a myriad of other barriers, but joined as brothers to each other through the realization of God’s reconciling and redeeming mission in the world.

Two children of God.

Connected.

Not just by their soccer jerseys.

Two children of God.

Connected.

By Jesus Christ.