“I have awesome parents. They were radically saved by Jesus when they were in their mid-20s, and they were on fire for God! A few years later, they both left their big jobs, to serve God at a Christian campsite in Sydney. I was seven at the time, and they ended up staying there for about 20 years.
It had a huge impact on me. Every week, we’d have busloads of kids arriving from everywhere. They’d hear the gospel and go home radically transformed by Jesus. I saw it every week. I remember thinking, this is what God is like!
My dad led me to salvation when I was five. I’ve always loved God, but over time, I also felt a need to perform to please God. I was always serving. I’d help with Wesley Mission’s drug and alcohol arm on Saturdays, then I’d volunteer with Vision Valley (formerly Wesley’s conference centre) through the week, and I’d serve at kids church on Sundays. Subconsciously, I was thinking … if I did good, then I’d get good (from God).
Then I got really sick when I was 22. I couldn’t get out of bed. I had a glandular fever type virus, which led to an illness that lasted ten years. I needed to sell my business. I couldn’t work or ‘serve’ God for a very long time. I stayed in bed. But through that time, God gently showed me that he loved me just the way I was. He was never going to let go or leave me. It was my time of transformation. I was so sure of God’s peace and presence. It forced me to stop and re-evaluate, and God’s voice was so clear to me. He was speaking his love into me.
When I started to feel better, I asked God what I should do now. He said, ‘Just use the small things in your hand.’
During my earlier years, I’d been into riding motorbikes. I had a couple of bikes that I’d done up and I bought a few more. A friend in Wellington (country NSW) started telling me about some of the local kids who led broken lives. We figured we could take our motorbikes out to Wellington for those kids. So, we did. We hung out with the local kids who loved the bikes. We put on a BBQ, and we had a guest speaker at the local church as an outreach. All the kids attended (the ones we’d been reaching out to), approximately 100 kids. They really responded!
We ended up making it a regular event over the next few years in Wellington. After that, we started taking the bikes to other places, such as Newcastle and Broken Hill. God brought the connections and it worked. Motorbikes are something that the kids really liked. They would arrive, hang out with us, and we listened to them, then talked about life and Jesus. They realised that these Christians were okay and weren’t all weird. It opened lots of doors for the local church.
It was a season, and I don’t have the bikes now, but I’m always thinking about what’s in my hand. How can I be faithful in the small things? I know I’m loved by God … and that my time here is short, so I ask, ‘God, how can we be wise with the little and use it to help build your kingdom?’
My heart verse is from 2 Peter 3. ‘But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.’ (v 8-9).
God is so patient with us and he loves everyone so much! Imagine if we all kept asking the question – what are the small things that he has put in our hands today? Imagine if we kept using those small things, and together, we could help reach out to the world all over. He doesn’t want anyone to perish!”
Luke’s story is part of Eternity’s Faith Stories series, compiled by Naomi Reed. Click here for more Faith Stories.
