The Gang Leader - written by Alfred (a short story for kids)

Once upon a time there lived a teenage boy named Duncan. He was very rough and wild but he loved the fear, the controversy and the criticism he stirred up wherever he went to. He was the leader of the 16th most feared gang in the city. They weren’t the worst but they were pretty bad.   

However, everything was about to change for Duncan. He was about to die. He was staring down the gun of a barrel and considering what he had done to the guy holding the gun in the past, there was no way that he wasn’t going to pull the trigger.   

They say at such moments your entire life flashes before your eyes but all that flashed in front of Duncan’s eyes where the few stories about Jesus Christ that he had heard as a little boy in Sunday school. Then he remembered his Grandma’s favorite line: Whenever you are in trouble you can always call on Jesus and he would be right there.   

For some reason, Duncan just screamed out, “Jesus if you save me I promise I would serve you for the rest of my life.”   The trigger was pulled but nothing happened. It was pulled again and still nothing happened. The guy holding the gun was dumbfounded. He had heard Duncan’s little pact with God. He didn’t want to believe that his strange occurrence had anything to do with it. He looked at the gun closely – it was the same. He pointed the gun at a dumpster nearby and pulled the trigger. It fired   

Huh?   

Well, whatever it was that was the problem with the gun is over now. He can now continue where he left off. He pointed the gun back at Duncan, smiled and then pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. What? He didn’t stick around, the smile vanished from his face, he dropped the gun and turned and ran away.   

Duncan just stood there. He was panting like an exhausted dog and was sweating like an ice cube.   

He fell on his knees and right there and then he gave his heart to Christ.   

Duncan goes to a Pastor the next day and joins a church.   Later he went to his old gang to tell them he was out.  Normally, that meant a good beating. But he was the leader, he sincerely didn’t know how it would go.   

When he told them they wanted to beat him but they are too scared. He was their leader. 

Well, he used to be. They were accustomed to seeing him as the wild vicious Duncan. The didn’t want to try him. He was the one that taught them everything they knew about the kind of life they lived.

One brave but about to be sorry soul throws a punch at Duncan, but Duncan catches his hand in mid air and pushes him to the floor.   If it was somebody else they could have rushed him. But it was Duncan. They let him walk away quietly but shouted insults to him as he walked away.   

Days later one of Duncan’s new Christian friends tell him to preach to his old gang but Duncan refuses.   

Later, Duncan feels the Holy Spirit leading him to go back and preach to them. He struggles with the Spirit’s leading but later he yields.   

When he approaches them at their old hangout they are like what are you doing here?   

He says to preach.   

They tell him to go away, but he begins to preach anyway and they just ignore him.   

He preaches on love and about how his heart is now full of love because of Jesus. He told them how he is in a new brotherhood, a new family, but as he was speaking; the girl friend of one of the gang members them with her baby in her arms and says a few cross words to the baby’s father. Then she gives the baby to the father and walks away.   

Not less than 3 minutes later, a car rolls up and a hand holding a gun comes out the window. The guy holding the baby was busy concentrating on his baby and he didn’t see the car coming. Duncan jumped at him; pushing him to the ground while shielding him at the same time. Duncan gets shot in the process.   

When Duncan wakes up he is in the hospital surrounded by family and friends but most surprisingly; the old gang is there.   

The one whose life he saved said,”We all gave our lives to Christ and are leaving the gang life behind. If you can risk your life to save mine because of the love Jesus has put in your heart, then Jesus must really love me.”

THE END.