“On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.””
There are many different names and titles that are attributed to Jesus: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, the Son of God, the Good Shepherd, etc. But over these past three months serving as an intern with TCM, I have been reflecting on how Jesus is our Friend, and what that means in the lives of the children who attend our program and in my personal life.
I stepped into the Year-Long Intern position at the beginning of January because I wanted to continue to serve the children in Toronto, and I wanted to find out what my role and purpose were in the lives of the kids. I knew I wanted to be a Christ-like role model for them, but I didn’t know practically how to do that. During the internship, I have had the opportunity to meet children and youth in each of our three communities, playing games, teaching the Bible and having conversations with many different students.
March Break Camp was especially memorable for me, seeing the excited smiles on the faces of the kids each day, but one encounter with a child sticks out to me in particular from that week. During lunchtime, I saw that one of our younger boys was sitting by himself away from the rest of the group, and I walked over to him to have lunch. After asking what was wrong, he told me that he didn’t want to eat with the rest of the boys because they were mean to him, and he didn’t feel that he had many friends either at the program or at school. I decided to sit with him for the rest of the week for lunch, and I reminded him that I was his friend. I saw the surprised and excited look on his face, and as simple a gesture as eating lunch together was in my eyes, I realized the significance this could have in this student’s life.
I am reminded of the stories of Jesus going to the houses of Matthew and Zacchaeus. Many of the Jewish people likely despised them because of their jobs as people who took money from them and cheated them. And yet we read in Matthew 9:9-13 and in Luke 19:1-10 that Jesus spends time with the people who are ostracized. I think that similarly, I am called in this ministry to be a friend to all the children, but especially those who need a friend.
God has blessed me with this opportunity at TCM to be a Christ-like older brother figure for the boys who come to our programs, and I believe that He has placed me here in this season to be a light in our communities using the gifts that He has given me. But I have realized that in order to exemplify to the kids who Christ is, I need to know who Jesus is myself. Jesus is the Almighty Lord of my life and is my Savior for my sin, but through reflection, I have come to know Jesus as my Friend. During my internship, I have learned that I can turn to Jesus during my times of loneliness in faith that He too will come to sit with me.