I can't sleep. I've been laying here for hours. It's 2:00am and only about 4 hours till my day starts, and I'm wide awake! Usually, for me, this means that God is trying to speak to me or I need to pray about something. Tonight, (or morning depending on how you look at it) God has placed the needy on my heart.
You may have seen this video circling Facebook, about a homeless man who just wants people to respect him. He says "I'm not a bum, I'm a human being" as he begins to become emotionally overwhelmed.
Oh did this hit my heart in such a way that I could literally feel the pain in his words, and see it in his eyes.
I feel so immensely thankful for a warm bed tonight. Not just my bed, but I have comfort! I have pillows, blankets, and warmth. I often categorize myself as poor, but I'm not really poor at all. I have always had shelter, always food to eat, always people to love and people that love me back. I've never been alone.
Now, I can remember times we had little. I remember one time, when we were so low on food that I had to make homemade noodles out of the little bit of flour we had left. That was dinner. There was also, one early spring when our power was shut off for 4 days, because we couldn't pay the bill. Those were some really cold nights. We all slept dressed in several layers and many blanks all huddled together in the living room. Oh yes, and the time our water was shut off for about a week. That was a very smelly week if you know what I mean! Ha! But seriously, those small situations are NOTHING, compared to what some people face.
I don't even feel worthy to talk about our situation when so many others are facing so much worse. God says we need to be thinking about these people, and caring for them, and more than that, respecting them!
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 14:12-14
Every time I come across this verse I feel so convicted. I don't really have a place to host dinner parties as of right now, but when I did have a home, I definitely only ever invited my friends and family. I know this is a tough one, but what if we invited people who we know just need a night to be loved? People who are needy physically or spiritually? What impact could this have on their life AND yours? What if we actually treated these people as if they really were Jesus?
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Matthew 25:40-45
I am guilty of not caring like I should for those in need around me. It's so easy to get caught up in living life and to just be blind to it all.
I got to see first hand some of these people last year when my husband stayed at the rescue mission for a couple months. The guys there are real people, with real hearts and real needs. Some them are there from job loss, disability, some are battling addictions, some just have no where to go. They are men with hearts and dreams and they just want to be ok.
The purpose of writing this, is not to make anyone feel guilty that they haven't given their money or time to the needy; no, God never wants us to act on guilt, but instead, I pray that these words would stir something new and different in our hearts. Something that would compel us to be more giving, quicker to help, and slower to judge. No gift is too small, no amount of time is too little, and every prayer is powerful!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
No comments:
Post a Comment