“Christ is my Saviour,” Pilito, a thirteen-year-old Mexican boy told me. In the few minutes we had together, he went on to speak openly of his love for the Lord Jesus.
I had known of Pilito for a long time and knew he did not always love the Lord. In fact, until recently he cared nothing at all for Him. What Pilito really loved was getting his own way. But hard times had made him realize how much he needed the Saviour.
Pilito’s mother and I were friends growing up in Tampico, Mexico. After I got married, I moved far away, but we kept in touch by telephone. After she married, she wanted a child more than anything she had ever wanted before. She prayed for a child of her own and also asked all her friends to pray. I was one of those friends. Four years later the prayers were answered, and Pilito was born.
I suppose, since Pilito was an only child, it was very easy for his parents to spoil him. His parents seemed to give in to his every wish. You might wonder that a child born into a “slum” - an often violent, rundown, dirty part of a city - could ever be spoiled. It is not where a child lives, but the pride that lives in the hearts of each of us that so easily makes us selfish and spoiled. The human heart is the same whether a person lives in a slum or a palace. Pilito was given his way so many times that he thought he should always get it. He became a difficult child. He didn’t ask for things - he demanded them! And when he didn’t get his way, he would throw a tantrum. His home became a battleground.
When Pilito was nine years old, his father enrolled him in a karate class. Pilito was small for his age, just like his father had been. His father wanted him to be able to fight and defend himself. He didn’t want the neighborhood bullies picking on his son.
One day Pilito was walking down the street on the way to karate class. A truck careened around the corner, and the driver never saw Pilito. “PILITO, LOOKOUT!” someone yelled, but the warning came too late. Before Pilito could get out of the way, the truck hit him. The impact shattered his leg and sent him flying through the air. When he hit the pavement, his head hit the concrete, knocking him unconscious and giving him a dangerous concussion. Men picked him up and carried him to the hospital. The doctor in charge did not think Pilito would live.
Once again Pilito’s mother contacted all her friends and asked them to pray for her son. I remember when she called me and told me with tears choking her voice, “Please pray for my son, that he will live and that the doctor can save his shattered leg.”
I was so upset by the call that for days I prayed for the boy. I prayed not only that he would recover, but far more important, I prayed that his soul might be saved.
At first it was so uncertain - it looked as if Pilito might die at any time. But after many days he improved. Weeks later the doctors sent him home. He would always walk with a limp, but at last he was home again. This was the first of two hardships the Lord used to open young Pilito’s heart to His message of salvation. The second took place a few months later.
Pilito’s mother had always worked outside the home. One day when she was busy at work, she suddenly blacked out and crumpled to the floor. When she came to, she could no longer move her arms or legs, and her speech was so slow and slurred that no one could understand her. Pilito’s mother had suffered a major stroke!
The doctors could only help a little and sent her home from the hospital. At home she lay in bed, barely able to move or speak. Pilito’s father had to work, so the boy was often left alone to care for his mother in their tiny apartment. Pilito had never even taken care of himself before; now he had to take care of himself and his very sick mother. It broke his heart to see her lying in bed helpless. Seeing his mother suffering hurt him and made him realize how much he loved her. In his distress and in what seemed like the darkest moments of his life, he turned to the Saviour of sinners and told the Lord Jesus how much he needed Him. Perhaps there was no other way for the Saviour to find His way into Pilito’s heart, other than the boy passing through these two tragedies.
God had answered many prayers on Pilito’s behalf - about the boy’s birth, his recovery from the accident, and now, at last, about Pilito’s salvation. He was born again!
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:33Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)), the Saviour said. A person must have the new birth to become part of God’s family. Being “born again,” the Spirit of God gave a new life to Pilito, a life that let him know God and love Him. Many times in Pilito’s young life he had heard God’s Word. It had meant little or nothing to him, but now God’s Word had become important to him. It told him of the Saviour who loved him so much that He gave His life on Calvary’s cross so he could be saved. It also told him that God would always care for him and help him through all his problems.
In the past the old Pilito had made demands on his parents and threw tantrums that made his parents miserable when he didn’t get his way. Now the old Pilito was gone. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)). The new Pilito knew he could make requests to God his Father, but he would never think of making demands. Making demands like a spoiled child is not right for someone who loves and trusts God as their Father.
Pilito learned to help around the house and to help his Mom as she slowly recovered from her stroke. Putting the needs of others before his own, he learned one of the things that brings joy in the Christian life:
J stands for putting Jesus first.
O stands for putting Others next.
Y stands for putting Yourself last.
Boys and girls, don’t wait for a tragedy to happen in your life before you turn to the Saviour. Won’t you come to the Lord Jesus so that you might have the new life that only He can give?
ML-05/20/2007