‘Hiding’ the Word in his heart: how a drug addict became a Bible Society supporter
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Coming to know Jesus saved his soul, says Ricardo Burnett, but reading the Bible transformed his life. Mr Burnett is a former drug addict who is now a minister and avid supporter of the Bible Society of the West Indies. “I smoked marijuana, then I moved to smoking crack cocaine,” Mr Burnett, 40, admits. The child of a broken home, young Ricardo did not know either of his parents until he was 20. But there was one brief bright time in his early life. Dropped out“I started going to school because of a lady I knew,” Mr Burnett recalls. “She would send me to school each day. But then she moved away so I dropped out. Later, though, I went to several schools which provided a place of safety for boys. All of these places had people coming in to share the Word of God. So I believe that in those early years, the Word was taking hold of my heart.” If spiritual seeds were planted in young Ricardo’s heart, he went through some tough times while they lay dormant. “There came a time when I was living on the street and my family didn’t want to see me any more,” Mr Burnett admits. Finally, he felt the need to change. “My aunt said the Church could help me,” he says. “She invited me to her house, where there were some women praying. By that time, I was desperate to stop the drugs. “The women led me in a prayer to ask Jesus into my heart,” he remembers. “I immediately felt that a load had fallen off of me. They gave me a Living Bible and I began to read it.” Reading that Bible transformed his life. “My aunt put me up at her house. For two months straight I read the Bible. I also developed my prayer life and asked God to fill me with the Holy Spirit. And he has certainly done that.” Mr Burnett’s first step as a new Christian was to try to share God’s Word with others. Buying and selling“I found that I had a love for the Bible,” Mr Burnett says, “but when I spoke to people about it, most of them didn’t have one. So I came to the Bible Society to buy some and started selling them.” Unfortunately, his eagerness to share the Word did not produce a profitable business. “People would promise to pay, then not pay,” Mr Burnett discovered. “I could not support myself, so I had to move on to something else, even though I loved doing it.” ‘Moving on’ meant working in a restaurant, then as a security guard. But then the eager new Christian felt God calling him to preach and he went to Bible School. He is now assistant pastor at the Love and Faith World Outreach Ministries church in Kingston. “Ours is an inner city church,” he explains, “with about 250-300 people attending each Sunday. “We have a food programme, we distribute clothes and we run a school. We provide jobs for people. We have a basketball court and a football pitch, and the young people come in and play. Our motto is, ‘Reaching Our Community, Touching Our World’. Most of all, I encourage people to study the Bible.” Mr Burnett stresses that the Bible is the only hope for transforming Jamaica. “The rule of the Bible changes society,” the preacher declares. “But people must be willing to be obedient to the Word of God.” Mr Burnett is also an avid supporter of the Bible Society. “I believe that the Bible Society and the Church should work closely together,” he says. “When a person receives the Lord, the Bible Society could provide materials for him through the Church.” Mr Burnett would also like to see a Bible Society publication giving people a biblical perspective on current affairs. But most important of all, he says, is that the Society should always be present in the churches to share its vision with all Christians – and to distribute the Bibles that are so desperately needed. “We have to tell people that the
Word gives you joy, it gives you peace, it satisfies your mind. It gives
you hope. It keeps you in touch with God. That is the answer.”
(WR 372/7 - 11.02) |
