This particular year, it was freezing, I remember being so cold walking those two blocks to the restaurant. As we were about a block away, I noticed a man who was laying on top of an air vent in the alley between the buildings. He was all bundled up and obviously laying on the air/heating vent to stay warm.
As we walked inside the restaurant and sat down, I could not stop thinking about that man and how cold it was outside. The story in the Bible of the Good Samaritan kept playing over and over again in my mind and I felt an extreme burden to help that man.
As soon as we placed our order, I looked over at my boss and said "hey, we are buying that guy outside dinner, it's cold out and it's the least we can do" before he could utter a word the waitress stops and interrupted me and said "I can't believe you are going to give that bum money! He is just lazy and doesn't deserve it, he could get a job, he would rather take handouts than work, I will not put in that order, I am sick and tired of those people always with their hands out".
Now before I could respond, my boss who didn't know the Book of Genesis from the Book of Revelation told her if she wanted a tip to hush and place the order. I ordered him a cheeseburger, fries, bowl of chili and piece of cake for dessert.
As we walked out I walked over the man, turns out he wasn't sleeping just curled up to stay warm, I looked at him, told him that Jesus loves him and handed him the bag and we walked back to our car.As we got into the car we were parked on a one way street and had to drive right past the man to get to our hotel, as we drove by, we saw 3 other men standing with him, one had the fries, one had the bowl of chili, the other with the dessert and I looked at that man, who was now standing, he had the big cheeseburger in his hands and had a smile from ear to ear as he ate his burger.
Many things that we do as Christians, the world cannot understand or comprehend. That waitress displayed incredible anger and judgment as she thought that man was just lazy, unwilling to work, a bum.
Any time we step out in faith to represent the Lord you can be guaranteed that someone or somebody will have something to say about it and will not like it. These interactions should only serve to strengthen our faith and resolve. Living a life as a Christian is not easy and not for the faint of heart. The Bible is very clear that in latter days, many Christians will walk away from their faith choosing instead to serve the god of this world... Mammon and self instead of our one true God! When people serve the God of Mammon or self, they become incapable of blessing others instead morphing into becoming Narcissistic in thought, word, and deed. Totally shutting down the voice of the Holy Spirit in their lives, no longer displaying the transformation of a Christ-centered live as evidenced of the Fruit of the Spirit.
Our job is not to judge, that is God's job. Our job is to be difference makers in the lives of people God puts into our lives, whether they are here a mere moment, a few years or many years. As we mature in our relationship with God the Holy Spirit begins to open our eyes the needs of others around us.
The reason that we have more than we need is to be a blessing to other people. That is what the Christian faith is about, loving others because God loved us and putting feet to our faith and actually doing something to bless other people in the name of Jesus. Friends, it is one thing to see the needs of others but an entirely different thing to actually do something about it! That's the difference maker, DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
On the way back to the hotel my boss couldn't stop talking about how that guy had given his food away to those three other guys and how he felt really good because he was a part of blessing hose people. It opened an opportunity for me to share with him the story of the Good Samaritan and how God went out of his way to bless us with his son Jesus Christ on the Cross. I was able to plant a seed for the lord that day with my Boss.
Our giving and generosity can open doors of opportunity to impact people's lives and spread the good news of the gospel. We came with nothing into the world, we will leave this world with nothing but our relationship with Jesus and a future date with God to review how we lived our lives for him.
The battle we fight daily is the battle to be self-absorbed with our lives, issues and needs and skate past or overlook the needs of other people. When was the last time you blessed someone else? I know that God himself views the blessing of others as ministry unto him! He has a heart for the people the world looks down upon as not measuring up or being good enough. Too goofy looking, too short, too fat, too uneducated, too broken. While the world sits back and judges, the true followers of Christ step into action and become God's outstretched arm in this world.
Every day we draw a breath is precious, we are living on borrowed time which we do not have any control over. Live every day like today is your last. Hug your kids, tell your spouse you love them and be a blessing to others!
No comments:
Post a Comment