Score the world. 0 to 10. 5 is a pass. What would you give?
A thirteen-year-old boy’s answer? 3.
What makes a boy in year 8 say that the world is a fail?
He wasn’t trying to be clever or provocative. He had a thinking face on, and he had a calm voice. When I asked why he would give only 3 out of 10, he didn’t answer in specifics. But his eyes looked into distance, and said there were too many bad things in the world.
I tried to dig a bit deeper, but I couldn’t. The bell rang, and lunch was over. He walked away for his next class.
Our team was at Wollondilly Anglican College today. A great Christian school where committed Christian staffs are working hard with a clear mission to make Christ known and glorified among students. It was our privilege to work with them on school grounds to proclaim Jesus. We had informal conversations about Jesus with students during recess and lunchtime. We entered classrooms to present our Jesus is _____ talks and have discussions with students. We greeted and conversed with parents who came to pick up their children. Some were able to produce “standard” answers. Jesus is love. Jesus is life. Jesus is the creator. Some were very enthusiastic, especially year 1 students! Given the fact that most students come from non-Christian families, their enthusiasm and excitement about Jesus was a wonderful testimony to the effectiveness of the school’s ministry to make Jesus known and God’s blessings in it. But not all conversations were met with such receptiveness. There were resistance, apathy, and objections. And then there were those who struggled to make sense of how a good God could make this world that is obviously not so good, scoring only 3 out of 10.
But Jesus didn’t leave the world as it went where it wanted to go. We know Jesus has done something about this wayward world. He came on a mission to rescue the world, paying for the expenses with his own blood. So we do not lose heart, watching and living in the world that scores only 3 out of 10. One day the world will score 10 out of 10. And it will be all because of Jesus who came for the world that failed. We want people of Macarthur to know this Jesus. Would you pray with us?
Thank God for:
- enthusiasm and excitement of year 1 students about Jesus
- great welcome and support from the school
- keenness of school staffs to evangelise students
Ask God for:
- wisdom for us to better engage apathetic students as we go to Oran Park Anglican College and St. Peter’s Anglican Primary School tomorrow (Tuesday)
- better use of the limited time we have with these students
- greater effectiveness in ministering towards parents and teachers
