Thank You King Levi

Sweat stains lined my t-shirt and my body was tired from walking for hours. It was around 3pm and our first day of evangelism was coming to an end. Clayton, Esther, and I had practically walked the small town of Puerto Viejo twice already in the five hours we had been exploring, and now in an effort to strike up another conversation in the last hour we had, we started walking along the semi-crowded beach front. That day, we had already met plenty of shop owners, locals, and vacationers who are trying to escape the cold winter of their own cities. The conversations we had were starts to relationships we hope the Lord will help us steward here. 

As we were walking along the black sand water front with our shoes in hand and our eyes open for opportunities, we hit the part of town where the bus station collides with the beachfront. Sitting on the bench behind the bus station was a face we all recognised. 

Earlier that day, we met an older gentlemen who called himself King Levi. King Levi is originally from Jamaica, but has lived here for a few years because Puerto Viejo is what he considers “heaven.” 

We waved, “hola” to catch His attention and with a little hesitation walked over to sit on the end of the bench he had been since the first time we saw him that day. Our conversation picked up from where it began, but this time we dived a little deeper. In his good english (I wish I was casually bilingual like so many people here lol), He told us all about who He believes God to be, what he thinks heaven is, and bits and pieces of His life story.  

Although I don’t remember the exact phrases He used, a lot of His belief system can be summed up in these few sentences:

“Do good, chase after love, don’t go to jail.” 

“Your heaven is right here, there is no tomorrow.”

“After we die there is nothing, you only have this moment.” 

“I don’t need a Bible, the Lord already put the Bible inside of me.”

The rest of the conversation looked like a lot of listening and asking questions to understand more. He was kind and gave us space to share what we believe, but most times before we could finish our thoughts he would end up driving the conversation back to the same point it started about how we just need to be good people.  

About an hour passed and it was time to catch the bus to go back to base, so we said our goodbyes.  

It’s now been about a week since we met King Levi that day, and his story is still heavy on my heart for a few reasons that the Lord knew I needed reminders for: 

1. In all realness, I was a little frustrated after our conversation with Levi. I felt like he didn’t actually try to hear anything we said. And I had to realise that’s ok. My job as someone who follows Jesus isn’t always to be heard. Listening is loving too. And in reality, I am completely incapable of changing a heart; I am a simply a broken vessel in the process of being made whole again. 2 corinthians 4:7 states, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God not from us.” Reminded me of what an honour it is that Jesus entrusted us, imperfect and undone, to carry His spirit!   
2. I loved half of Levi’s belief system. Loving and being a good person and living presently is great. But without Jesus, how tiring and empty to chase after those things? With Abba, good works are not from a place of striving for salvation, but out of a joyful recognition to do to others what God has done for us. Out of His love for me, I get to love; It’s not a striving relationship, simply an abiding relationship. In John 15, it talks about how Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. He is the source of everything! And in Ephesians 2:8-9 it states so clearly, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Man, that’s such good news because I’m weak, my flesh is loud, and I fall short daily. 
3. I’ve learned that this world comes to man with the message “know yourself,” but the Gospel meets man with a far different word, “know your God.” Living to feel good in the moment is a never ending road. I’ve seen it everywhere here. People are searching for something in themselves that they can’t find in themselves. Yes, heaven can be found on earth, but it’s goes a lot deeper than “feeling good.” A fleeting moment of satisfaction diminishes in the presence of God’s glory and the Holy Spirit. That’s the kind of moments here on earth that I wanna live for. 
4. Without Jesus, I would probably be even more lost than King Levi. I was that lost sheep that Jesus had to leave the 99 for once too. I am just as fallen, just as sinful, and have just as hard of time listening a lot of days. I can relate to him on so many levels of trying to find fulfilment in what we consider “paradise” here on earth. And being reminded of this only draws from me a bigger desire to ask the Lord to work radical blessings in King Levi’s life and fulfill His desires a hundred fold more than anything else has the capacity to.  

Learning to meet King Levi exactly where he is at on that bench behind the bus station. My heart is with this man! I know the Lord is chasing after His beloved son even if my squad and I never get to see it. 

*Disclaimer, all participants were masked and kept social distancing guidelines.