Little Big Man

The following is an article that came across my desk last week and I thought it should be shared with everyone. Last month I preached a lesson where I challenged us to consider what we could all do for the kingdom with “what we’ve got.” Too often we view challenges such as world hunger as “just too big” to do anything about… but oh, if we could just have the attitude of a child…

Little Big Man

Catch this idea. Little five year old Jackson Watson sees a TV program that is trying to raise awareness and money to feed starving West Africans. There are flies on these young children, they don’t have enough food to eat, the food they have is not that good for them. Jackson hits the sheets for sleep but when he awakes the next morning he decides he is going to do something about what he saw. He grabs an empty peanut butter jar, puts big stickers on the jar and writes a note so the children will know he wants them to eat good food like broccoli and carrots. (The stickers and jar are to put the flies in so they won’t be buzzing around the kids’ eyes.) He doesn’t want them to be hungry anymore. He takes the jar to Darryl who is the minister at his congregation so Darryl can get the jar to Africa to help these children.

Darryl sits and looks at the jar, decides to preach a lesson about it, puts the jar down on the Lord’s table, notices after services that there is $100 bucks in the jar, decides to bring little Jackson to the podium that evening, puts him on a chair and “little big man” explains to the congregation what he saw on TV. Enter another $509 bucks to the “bug jar.” The next Sunday another plea is made. The total is now $1000. Darryl tells the congregation about a worthy work in West Africa that is digging wells, and the farmers are raising crops. So the money is sent to help the children and this worthy work.

Now I don’t know what you think about Jackson. I don’t even know what you think about helping people that don’t have enough food to eat or have flies on their faces, but I do know this: If a five year old boy can spark an idea from “just doing the next right thing,” then people like you and me that have resources, have abilities and capabilities far greater than a five year old can do anything they set their minds to. We ought to have our minds set on preaching the gospel to the world.

What a lesson in just lifting where you stand with what you have in your hand. I hope Jackson never ever stops believing that he CAN do something about and for others.

-Lesley Brumfield—Safari for Souls 2008 Campaigner

I “amen” what Mr. Brumfield suggests. By the way… little Jackson is the grandson of our own Charles and Suzanne Higgins. What if we ALL had his same optimistic and determined spirit as Jaskson? What could we accomplish for the kingdom of God?