This past weekend I got to spend time with a few of the boys I mentor from the inner city. As usual we talked about everything, from angels to sports, education and health. Out of no where one of my young men made a somewhat random comment.
"Jason I know I am growing in the Lord because I haven't been suspended this year!"
My immediate thinking was I wonder how my suburban parents would react to such a comment as "progress". I certainly wouldn't be gauging my own children's success by the fact they hadn't got suspended from school. But when I thought about it more and processed it, I realized this is true growth from a young man whose life is being impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He went on to say that when others try to pick fights with him he prays for himself and them. He prays that God would give him self control to not only walk away but also not to lose his temper inside.
This is utterly amazing from a young man who has never met his father, lives in a community and goes to a school where respect and survival are priority, and has witnessed outbursts of physical violence every single day both in his home and community.
God said His kingdom is like a mustard seed, a small seed that falls to the ground and dies. When it takes root it grows, not rapidly but slowly. I am privileged to witness the slow growth that is taking place in these young mens lives.
As they grow I am challenged myself to remember that God does that same slow process in us as we follow Him. Growth doesn't take place overnight and walking with God in faithfulness is more important than running for God in haste.
We must remember in urban work that our kids we invest in have a different starting point. It's not that they are less than, incapable or slower. It's that they have had to grow up faster, experience more hardship, and suffered oppression and the effects of dysfunction much more. This makes the journey with them much tougher, yet extremely fulfilling as we see visible signs of God's grace in their lives.
