Yesterday was a not-so-good day, I think we dropped the ball and failed to really engage someone God placed in our path. Although I'm not 100% certain on what this man needed I know we at least failed when it came to offering to pray with and for him. We failed in that we passed the baton to "handle him" to the police. We failed in that someone was 'kicked out of' the church and made to feel unwelcome. We failed in that we made a crisis out of a simple opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And we failed because we didn't realize any of this until it was too late....but is it?
Although we dropped the ball and I was probably competing for one of the top three positions of most ticked off I think in our failures is an opportunity to learn, grow and do better next time. A failing grade is okay, as long as we're not going to make the same mistake next time. We can't afford to...for the sake of what God has called us to!
Matthew chapter 7 came to mind after beginning to process what happened...
Matthew 7 opens by saying "Don't judge others, or you will be judged. You will be judged in the same way that you judge others, and the amount you give to others will be given to you."
Often times we make assumptions and judgements about others without even so much as a conversation or a hello. We can no longer do this - everyone is a child of God and deserves to be treated with some respect.
The passage goes on in v9: “If your children ask for bread, which of you would give them a stone?"
What are we really offering when someone asks us for "bread" - do they get bread or a stone?
When I look at v.9 & 12 ("Do to others what you want them to do to you") I think of my own family - if my son asks for bread as his father I'm going to make sure he has bread. Why will I not do the same for any other brother or sister in Christ? If I was in a time of need I would hope someone would see my need and share some compassion and bread with me. It's what God has called us to.
Verses 13 & 14 say The Way To Heaven Is Hard. God never promised it would be easy - but often times we're confronted with a homeless person, or a situation we see as scary. In some circumstances we call someone else to "handle the situation" - no police force can compare to the God of the universe who promises that if we seek Him and His Kingdom then all of our needs will be met. We need to be aware of our surroundings but we need to stop fearing the ministry right in front of us.
Matthew 25:40 “‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’"
We need to treat everyone we encounter as we would treat Jesus!
In my opinion we must do better next time,
~C
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