While on a mission trip to Nicaragua this week, my oldest son posted a picture on his Facebook profile of a street person in Managua or Matagalpa. It could have been taken in my city, or yours, or in any major city of the world. Such desperation is pictured there--a thin man, shabbily dressed, whose shoes appear to be wrapped in plastic, surrounded by what may be his life's possessions.
Most of us come face to face with men and women like him every day. Maybe it is someone who came to hard times at no fault of their own...a lost job, unable to find another, now homeless. Possibly you've seen her strutting on a street corner late at night. She's sold her body for years to support her insatiable need for drugs and alcohol. Her face, once beautiful, is now aged beyond her years. Of course, there's the man who sits at the traffic light on your way to work, or home from church. He holds his sign, "Homeless-Need Food". You wonder, is he really homeless or just trying to take advantage of your caring nature? Driving downtown for a show or dinner, there sits a group of men on your left sharing a brown-bagged bottle of cheap wine. They wait for the shelter doors to open, hoping for a few hours of air conditioning, and rest on a cot instead of the hard ground.My first reaction is to turn my head and pretend I don't see them. I don't want to face the grim reality that life is bleak for a large percentage of the world's population. But for the grace of God that could be me--or someone I love. What if I resist the temptation to look away and actually make eye contact? Can I choke down my self-righteousness, loathing and disgust, and tap into God's love and compassion? He died for them...the same as he died for me. He loves them, just as much as he loves me.
All my life I've heard the term, they "fell into sin"? I have an image of taking a short-cut through a cemetery alone at night. There is no moonlight or star shine to light my way. As I hold my hands in front of me trying to find my way home, I stumble and fall into an open grave. The sides are so slick and steep, I can't climb out. Isn't that a frightening image?
Does it matter why I was taking a short-cut, or why I was alone? Should I be condemned for not carrying a flashlight to light the path, or for making such a foolish decision? The end result is the same; I am in a hopeless situation with seemingly no way out! But then, my Jesus came--offering hope, redemption, rescue, forgiveness, provision, healing, a family, and an eternal home.
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." James 2:10
"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
When I am tempted to turn my head...instead I should pray. "Jesus, I know you died for them, just as you died for me. Give me a loving heart full of compassion. If I can be used in some way to bring them to your feet, I am willing. But if not me, please God, send someone who can."
Copyright 2011 Charlotte Laney
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