Just over 4 years ago, while I was on a missions training course in Guatemala City, we had to put together a tract, and then use it in evangelism... our mission was to do some outreach to tourists in Antigua Guatemala, and we were to use these very tracts. So I put together a rather tacky-looking tract (in terms of presentation), with writing on both sides of an A4 sheet of paper, folding it twice... It´s not so much the presentation, but the nature of the content which will surprise you - at God´s ability to give inspiration and then to get you to the right place at the right time.
That day I was paired up with Edwin Parada from El Salvador... We hit the central park which, as expected, was packed with tourists from overseas. Before I tell you exactly how God got us to the right place a the right time, I would like you to read the following, which I typed out directly from the tract as it was, scanning in the original graphic that my friend Dylan Wilson put together for me as well:
Penguins and Toothbrushes – Demystifying Sin
“Killing is bad, killing is wrong – there needs to be a new stronger word for killing… like bad-wrong… or badong. That´s it – killing is badong!” – From the movie, “Kung-Pow”
I would equate the word “badong” with “sin”; but to see sin as it really is – what it all boils down to – let me tell you a true story about penguins and toothbrushes:
About three years back, there was an oil-spill off the West Coast of South Africa close to Cape Town. It wasn’t anything spectacular except for the fact that it threatened to wipe out two thirds of the world’s “Jackass Penguin” population – on an island called Dassen Island. Consequently, in a rapid response, the world’s biggest bird-rescue-operation to date was set in motion. Tens of thousands of oil-congealed Jackass Penguins were captured and transported to a warehouse about 20 miles inland. Experts from all over the world were flown in, and with the help of thousands of daily volunteers from the general public, the clean-up lasted the better part of 2 months.
I took part as a volunteer during one of the evenings, donning the generic, yellow, waterproof overalls and black rubber boots. My duties ranged from unpacking boxes of frozen fish to holding penguins with all of my bodily might – so that they could be given iron injections, re-hydrated and force-fed. Of course, the most sought after task was the actual washing of the penguins – scrubbing off the thick, black oil. This sure beats sweeping penguin poop out of their holding pools!
So I got my turn; once again holding one of these feisty critters in my grip – taking care to immobilize the beak – so that the little guy would not bite through my glove… and flesh! A second person was armed with a water hose (connected to warm water) and the tool of the day – a tiny toothbrush. Every square inch of the penguin was painstakingly scrubbed with a special liquid soap using downward strokes, going with the direction of the tiny feathers.
Later on that evening, it dawned on me that basically, we as human beings come into this world with a similar predicament to the oil-covered penguins. It’s just a matter of time before an oil-coated penguin would freeze to death in the cold ocean current – since the oil congeals in the penguins´ tiny feathers and the insulation and body heat is lost rapidly.
Just like the Jackass Penguins on Dassen Island really had no say in the matter (the oil-spill was beyond their control) – so we as people are born into this life (whether we realize it or not) – “covered” with sin.
The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3vs23.) To seemingly add insult to injury – it also says, “For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Just as penguins have absolutely no way of scrubbing oil from themselves – because duh!! – they have no hands; so it turns out that we as human beings take on the impossible task of trying to straighten ourselves out. The reality is that we need a little help – actually quite a lot – in fact all the help we can get.
Beyond their comprehension, the penguins were captured by a “saving grace” – little realizing that if they quit struggling and squirming - they would be cleaned a whole lot quicker. The less they tried to help themselves, the better!
It is explained in Romans 3vs28 – “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” Faith in Jesus Christ is our saving grace - just as Jesus claimed, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.”
Jesus laid down his life for us on the cross, and took it up again. He dealt with the consequence of sin for us (remember the fate of an oil-covered penguin) – because the blood of his sinless life was shed in our stead. This was God’s purpose for us. He flung a door wide open, and as it says once again in Romans, “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in the blood of Jesus to take away our sins.”
Incidentally, the entire project was an overwhelming success. They fitted one of the rehabilitated penguins, called “Percy”, with a device that could be tracked via satellite – and released him a few hundred miles up the coastline… and Percy found his way back to Dassen Island.
May God bless your endeavors as you travel, and may you discover the one thing in this world worth living and dying for – Jesus Christ.
Your friend from South Africa
Frank Degenaar
He was eager to read the tract at the close of our conversation... and there he had it: the straight-forward message of the Gospel using vivid symbolism that he would no doubt have understood, since he got tons of first-hand experience.
We left it in God´s hands, who in the first place orchestrated this meeting, far from happenstance or mere coincidence. I know this because God is in the habit of answering prayer... and I know that as I sat down to write the tract, I asked Him to show me what to write.
God bless you!
