FRIDAY MISSIONAL STORY: Loving Homeless People

April 24, 2009

Up until a year ago,  I had spent a lot of time with people who are homeless.  I led a Street church and we saw great things happen.  People came to faith in Christ, people were baptised, people got jobs and people got off the streets.  It was rewarding and exasperating all at the same time. 

You can see some of my story here.   I want to tell you the risks and dangers that also occur.  My friend Ben who worked with me as part of the street church, decided to take John, one of the homeless guys under his wings.  We had baptised John after he had confessed Jesus as his Lord, without any prompting from us.  Ben went the extra mile with John. 

We were able to get a job interview for John.  We provided him with money for decent clothes.  Ben and another friend Kelli took John for his interview.  He got the job.  There was the issue of some outstanding tickets he had.  They helped get him around to get those taken care of as well. 

Ben took John into his house, and helped him get to work and home.  For a while it worked well.  But as John became more prosperous and had money in his pockets,  his interest in the spiritual began to wayne.  He quit attending church gatherings.  He started looking at stuff.  He wanted a new stereo.  He wanted an LCD TV.  He quit having bible study and prayer times.

In the end he moved out on his own.  He’s no longer in contact with anyone.  The last contact we had was that he had to be taken to the hospital with chest pains.  Ben and Kelli took him.  To all appearances, he seemed to be having a reaction to some kind of drugs, though he wouldn’t admit it, (he changed his story four times).  After that he pretty much decided not to have anything to do with Ben or Kelli.

Ben took a risk and put a lot of time, energy and finances in trying to reach and help John.  Now he seems to feel burned, like what did it matter?  Does it matter?  Yes.  It matters.  It matters to God.  What Ben did pleases God’s heart.  Sometimes the things we do for people, our love, doesn’t always get returned.  Sometimes it gets thrown back in our faces and it hurts.  But God is still pleased with us.  That’s what really matters in all of this.

I still believe John will follow the Lord.  We pray that the Lord will draw him back and I hope it doesn’t take something hard like being back on the streets for that to happen.  But I’m more concerned about his soul than I am about where he lives.   What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.

By the way,  there is a new movie starting today that is based on a true story.  It’s called the Soloist, and is about a journalist who befriends a musical prodigy who happens to be homeless.  It looks like a great story.  I hope it is and a lot of people check it out.

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