I am almost certain that those of you reading this have somewhere you call home. It may not be much by the world’s standards, but it provides you with a place to sleep, eat, and relax at the end of the day. Yet, most of us wouldn’t have to travel very far to find many who have nowhere to call home. When we lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, many roamed the streets during the day, forging garbage cans for discarded food, or grabbing a meal at a shelter. At night they usually slept with whatever belongings they had, under one of the many bridges that lined the city. In almost every big city you see the replication of this situation.
How do you treat a homeless person? In times past I usually walked on by, eyes straight ahead, in hopes that I would not be approached and asked for money. My first thought frequently was “How did they allow their lives to get to this point?” Should I give them something, if I do will they spend it on alcohol or drugs? All these thoughts ran through my mind as I rapidly escaped the area and got to my car.
My mind changed drastically when our church in Virginia began to hold services at a homeless shelter. I began to see them through the eyes of Jesus. Our Lord and Savior, though creator, owner of the world’s riches, the one who holds everything together was a functional homeless man. When he started His ministry, He was at the mercy of those who knew Him. When He traveled, He stayed at their homes and ate their food. In Matthew 8:19-20, the scribe told Jesus He would follow Him anywhere. Jesus’s reply was the foxes have holes and the birds have their nests, but He had nowhere to lay His head. In our time, we would call Him homeless.
Matthew 8:19-20 “And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”
Jesus did not come to acquire wealth and become a king in a worldly fashion. He came to seek and save those who are lost. That includes everyone. God sent His Son to die for the sins of all mankind. Every person, homeless, middle class, wealthy, black, white, or somewhere in between, has a soul that Jesus died for. A soul that would spend eternity somewhere. A soul that was doomed because of sin. God gave His Son, we had no claim on Jesus, it was a gift from God. Jesus made a way for all to escape the wrath of God and the pits of hell. At the foot of the cross, it is level ground, no one is greater than any other, and there is no other way to God except through His Son Jesus Christ.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
I now look and act differently toward those who are destitute. They are people that God loves deeper than we can comprehend. If they have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, one day they may be my neighbor for all eternity. If they don’t know Him, God has given me an opportunity to introduce them to Him. Will some take advantage of me, and play on my heartstrings for a few dollars to support their ungodly habit? Maybe, but if I ignore them and act as if I am better than them, they may never know the truth. God has called all who are His to plant seeds of redemption in the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls. What happens with those seeds is between the person and God. You may not have much money to give away, but if you are a Christian you have the most valuable gift of all to offer them. I have often wondered how many would remain in their homeless situation if Christians would treat them like Jesus would treat them.
Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
I must confess I still struggle with those who are begging on the streets. I have given to some and not to others. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide me to make wise decisions rather than ignore them all.
