Student Leaders

by Pastor Don Nagy

When I first entered youth ministry, I met a young teenager named Jonas. Jonas grew up in a very dysfunctional family with all kinds of trouble. And while Jonas put on a tough guy front, deep down he was really a very kind and compassionate young man.

I spent most of that first summer trying to connect with Jonas in various ways. He had been through a lot, and had very little, so I tried to lavish love on him whenever I could. My thinking was that He might come to know and experience the love of God through the love I showed him in the name of Christ.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (I John 3:1)

There was one particular day that we planned to eat lunch at a local restaurant, so I walked over to his house at just a little before noon. I knocked on the locked front door multiple times but nobody answered. There were no other doors to the house, no doorbell to be rung, and all of the windows were closed because all of the air conditioners were running. I was sure that Jonas was in there and probably still sleeping.

So, I began to weigh my options. A thought crossed my mind to throw some rocks at his second-story bedroom window to get his attention. Fearful that I might break the window with a rock, I decided instead to throw small pebbles. I hit the window multiple times but did not succeed in waking him. Finally, I gave up and walked away.

I was very upset because I feared that when he awoke, he would think that I had forgotten about him. Jonas had been let down so often in his life, I did not want him to think that I had now let him down too. I was not sure he’d even believe me if I told him I had tried to get him.

It was then that I remembered the pebbles. You see, under his window was a small roof where all of the pebbles had landed. Those pebbles would be the evidence of my faithfulness to Jonas! If Jonas doubted me, I could point to the pebbles as proof that I did not forget him!

I’m sure that there are times where you feel that God has forgotten you, or abandoned you, but if you look hard enough, you can find the pebbles on your roof which are the evidence of God’s faithfulness to you through the years. Looking back on your life, what ‘pebbles’ can you find that serve as the evidence of His faithfulness to you? Make a list of them. Let that list declare His faithfulness to you and then go proclaim that faithfulness to others!

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, (Psalm 92:1-2)