A Message to "The Last of These"

As I have looked though the pictures taken by our team in Africa, I noticed that virtually every one of us has a picture with a child. I think Rob Miller was probably the champion when it came to making an instant connection with kids, but we all did in one way or another.

It's impossible not to in Africa. In some ways it's like playing a little dance. You first wave at a child, she/he looks at you, a bit surprised, then looks back to confirm that you are really waving at them (the typical gesture of those who are accustomed to being put last), then, once they realize you are actually occupying your mind with them, it's like the sunshine of their smile fills the atmosphere all around and both hands go up waiving frantically, wishing that moment would last forever.

The C.A.R. as a whole is not kind to children. Everywhere we go we see children being scolded for the littlest of offenses. If they crowd around foreigners too close, an adult usually comes and shews them away. If they are being noisy, somebody tells them to be quiet. If they are stepping out of line in church, sometimes men with sticks will hit them (not hard) and make them get in line. I saw this with my own eyes outside one of the churches, as people were lining up to participate in a baptismal service and I saw the fear on the faces of children as the tall African man lifted his stick.

Children are truly "the last of these" in a country like the C.A.R. Schools are completely bankrupt. Teachers, who go months without being paid by the government, often extort money from parents, so their children can continue in school. There are virtually no parks and playgrounds where kids can go to have fun. Close to where we stayed, a couple of times I saw school children playing with an old basketball and a flat soccer ball.

Now, I am not saying that there are no parks period and no schools that offer some decent education in the C.A.R. There are a few but the schools that do this are for people who have money, which is not the case for the vast majority of the population of this country. The three best schools in the Capital, two one run by a Muslim group and one by a Catholic group. They are private schools that charge more than what the average person makes in a year.

The children in Jesus' day faced the same kind of cultural prejudice and economical blockade. Jesus knew this. He came from a family of several children and they were not wealthy. He saw children being excluded from the good things of life from the time he was growing up and He knew the pain of being always considered a nobody.

And because he knew Jesus would not put up with adults around him who would bar children from coming to Him. Not that the disciples didn't try. I don't know if they had sticks, but they were probably being physical with the little children. Jesus said in no uncertain terms: "Let the little children come to me for to such belong the Kingdom of Heaven."

What a rebuke to a bunch of of big shot big people who thought that the "Jesus thing" was only for people 18 and older. Jesus said: "Don't exclude the little ones, I am planning to spend time with them in eternity." End of conversation.

And as we smile and hold little children from Africa, our goal is to convey to them, even if for a brief moment, the same message: "Even if the whole world rejects you, Jesus loves you." I know that I was not the only one who did this as we picked up little children in Bangui. You can't help but look at their eyes and think: "Jesus loves you." Sometimes you even mouth the words even though you know they don't understand a word of what you said. But you smile, you giggle, you look silly, and you pray for them, softly, that Jesus would protect them, that they would have enough to eat, that they would not succumb to opportunistic diseases, that they would grow up to love Jesus and to serve Him with all their hearts.

How can I describe the emotions that come over you as you hold one of these children on your arms? Some skeptical soul looking at these pictures might get the wrong idea that this is just a photo op. Maybe someone might suspect that, though we are letting children come to us, we are doing it for the wrong reason. "You just want to evoke an emotional response," they might say.


You couldn't be more wrong, my friend, if you thought that. I want you to hear me: I am most honored to have had the privilege to hold one of these little ones in my arms. I am a better person for having done that and I hope that whether you go overseas or across town you will also find someone who is among the "last of these" to communicate unequivocally this most liberating message that people who are accustomed to being last need to hear: "Jesus loves you."


Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org