[Haven't blogged lately because the hard drive on our home iMac crashed. Amazing how dependent we are upon these little boxes of technological wonder. Getting back into it, so here's a quick post.]
Habitually walking the same route I've now traversed for over ten years, from my San Francisco office building to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) subway system, I've recently become more closely acquainted with a homeless man who regularly stands at that entry point right around "whistle blowing" time. I've blogged about him before and believe the Lord has put him there for a multitude of unknown reasons. But selfishly speaking I like to think He's put him there for me. His name is Robert, and I've often wondered whether he isn't an angel. I'm serious. (cf. Hebrews 13:2)
Since listening to the Sermon Series entitled "Radical: What the Gospel Demands", I've yet to look upon the homeless through the same lens I did since childhood. Ashamedly, I confess, there was always a part of me that tugged on my mind (sort of like the little cartoon devil on my shoulder) saying, "Why can't you get a job?", or "If I give you money, you'll only use it to feed your indulgent addictions, so 'No, you can't have my money'". (MY MONEY, yeah right.)
I recently did a search through the four New Testament gospels and am amazed at how many times Jesus makes reference to the poor and caring for them. He's cut me to the quick and now I just simply must dig into my pocket and give. I've squashed those haunting voices whispering into my ears and have since determined that I must gladly do what He loves without concern to the responsibility of the receiver.
While on my way home from work the other evening I was a little self-absorbed in thought. Walking toward that old familiar subway entrance, from a distance I could see Robert standing in his usual spot. With right hand in pocket I shuffled through to find some loose change, maybe a bill or two. When I finally met up to him, he said to me, "Let me see if I can make you smile." "Make me smile?", I thought to myself. I must really look down and out - he's never said that to me before. Shouldn't I be the one trying to make him smile? Moments into the verbal exchange, he said, "O. K., I'm going to try to this one more time. I'm going to try to get you to smile." At that moment I smiled, and he returned the grin with missing teeth and said with a cocked head, "Have a nice day."
See what I mean? An angel, I'm tellin' ya.
"They only asked us to remember the poor -- the very thing I was also eager to do." - Galatians 2:10
Since listening to the Sermon Series entitled "Radical: What the Gospel Demands", I've yet to look upon the homeless through the same lens I did since childhood. Ashamedly, I confess, there was always a part of me that tugged on my mind (sort of like the little cartoon devil on my shoulder) saying, "Why can't you get a job?", or "If I give you money, you'll only use it to feed your indulgent addictions, so 'No, you can't have my money'". (MY MONEY, yeah right.)I recently did a search through the four New Testament gospels and am amazed at how many times Jesus makes reference to the poor and caring for them. He's cut me to the quick and now I just simply must dig into my pocket and give. I've squashed those haunting voices whispering into my ears and have since determined that I must gladly do what He loves without concern to the responsibility of the receiver.
While on my way home from work the other evening I was a little self-absorbed in thought. Walking toward that old familiar subway entrance, from a distance I could see Robert standing in his usual spot. With right hand in pocket I shuffled through to find some loose change, maybe a bill or two. When I finally met up to him, he said to me, "Let me see if I can make you smile." "Make me smile?", I thought to myself. I must really look down and out - he's never said that to me before. Shouldn't I be the one trying to make him smile? Moments into the verbal exchange, he said, "O. K., I'm going to try to this one more time. I'm going to try to get you to smile." At that moment I smiled, and he returned the grin with missing teeth and said with a cocked head, "Have a nice day."See what I mean? An angel, I'm tellin' ya.
"They only asked us to remember the poor -- the very thing I was also eager to do." - Galatians 2:10
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