Alabama 5-year-old shows love of Christ to homeless man
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (Christian Examiner) -- A five-year-old Alabama boy brought to life the Matthew 25 parable of caring for the "least of these" earlier this month by feeding a man in need.
Josiah Duncan and his mother, Ava Faulk, were dining at their local Waffle House when a transient man caught the young boy's eye, according to the local NBC news station WSFA 12.
Bewildered by the man's appearance, Duncan reportedly had many questions for his mother who explained that the man was likely homeless.
"What does that mean?" Faulk said the boy asked. "Where is his house? Where does he keep his groceries?"
When Duncan came to understand the man's circumstance and that he had no groceries or food, he insisted on helping the hungry stranger by buying him a hardy meal.
Eventually, the man entered the establishment and sat at a table. When no one waited on him, that too was a problem Josiah seemed intent to fix.
"Josiah jumped up and asked him if he needed a menu because you can't order without one," Faulk explained and noted they encouraged the man to order more than the modest hamburger he initially insisted on requesting.
When the food finally came, the boy made certain to say a blessing over the meal.
"I wanted to say the blessing with him," he said.
Duncan proudly sang the blessing loud enough for those nearby to hear and be moved by the heartfelt gesture, Faulk recalled.
"God our Father, God our Father, we thank you, we thank you, for our many blessings, for our many blessings, Amen, Amen," the boy demonstrated.
The simple prayer was both precious and powerful, Faulk said. "The man just cried, and everybody else in Waffle House cried."
While the occurrence lasted only as long as it took them to eat lunch, she will forever remember it is a proud moment, the mom noted in an email to the news station which she contacted to share the news of her son's selfless actions.
"Watching my son touch the 11 people in that Waffle House tonight will be forever one of the greatest accomplishments as a parent I'll ever get to witness," Faulk said.