A Boy Of Ten Gone Home To Be With The Lord
I remembered the first time I met Wayne. He was 9 years old, but his attitude and speech far exceeds that of a child. He was very authoritative, giving command and instructions to his peers who failed to realize that they were of the same age group, so they asked no questions but to follow his advise. He taught many of them how to ride a bicycle. When he was among adults, it was not strange to hear him giving his thoughts on political matters. He had an uncanny ability to fix his mother's appliances when they broke. His dream was to become a Scientist: But this was not to be. His mother and father took him to an open air service I had in my community. At the end of the service, his mother led him to the altar. He was just a child, yet he was suffering from cancer in the right ear. Wayne stood tall as we prayed for him. That was the beginning of a relationship between us as I constantly visited him from that night on.
Thank God with constant prayer, encouragement and with the Word of God, Wayne gave his heart to the Lord and he was baptized. His giant testimony was that whether God heal him or not, he was prepared to meet the Lord. Throughout his sickness he attended school because he never wanted to miss out from his lessons. However, as his strength failed, he stopped attending school and he was in and out of the hospital as his conditions deteriorated. The last time I visited Wayne, he was unrecognizable. His face was so swollen, it prevented his eyes to be opened. Looking at his face it would appeared as if his head was bigger than his body which was now frail and thin. For two years Wayne struggled with this dreaded disease and at the same time creating quite a stir with his peers and adults as they marveled at his strength and all that he had accomplished in such a short time of his life.
On the night of his death, he told his mother not worry and that she should take some rest. Those were his last word to her. About 2 a.m., she was just checking to see if he was resting comfortably, but alas, he was dead. A ten year old who had accomplished a lot, finally went home to be with the Lord. He has left an indelible mark in the hearts of all who knew him.
We might never quite grip why God allowed this to happen to Wayne, but one thing I know is that, many of us with all the years that God has given us, we have wasted them and have not achieved the height that God wants us to be. We really need to touch lives. No matter how old we are, we need to reach out to the dying. Yes, we need to rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. This was a lesson to many who began to assess their lives and vowed that they would begin to do something worthwhile with their lives. Wayne made a great difference, even in his mother's life, who made a decision to serve God and is now happily doing so and sharing her testimony with others. I believe this was just a sign from God to take one life, so that others would follow Him. Check your lives today. What is your purpose on earth? Are you trying to reach out to others? are you trying to touch lives like Wayne did? I close with 1Peter 2:24: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.
