As I looked out of my Jeep window, I observed Jason and Scott getting ready to join me for a ride to church. The year was 2000 and I was living in a ministry house in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason and Scott had recently been homeless and I was one of three leaders in the mission house. Our goal was to help the helpless and try to train them with basic life skills so they could get off the streets and have a second chance at life.
As I watched, I looked down at what I was wearing and looked into the rear view mirror. My hair was a bit long and I wore my hooded jacket and jeans. Jason was lacing up his combat boots and was covered in piercings and tattoos (most of which were homemade tattoos.) Scott was dazed from sleep and putting out his cigarette butt before getting in for the ride. He also had the biggest afro I had ever seen on a white man. He would stuff it under a baseball cap.
Thoughts raced through my head and I imagined that we would be a group that others would try to avoid. I thought about how unlovely they seemed, how bad they smelled and how frustrating it was to help them as they usually were very difficult to get along with. I thought we must look like a motley crue.
In those 30-seconds before they got into my vehicle, God shot an arrow to my heart that still sticks with me today. The impression cut to the core and humbled me deeply. The thought rang in my heart, “Chad, you are no different than they are.” The thoughts continued about how I had no choice in the home I was born into or the I.Q. that I had been given. How was I to take pride for anything that God had given me? My body, mind, heart, circumstances and most of all the grace of God to transform a wretch into a beloved child – this is all God’s grace.
It is helpful to me to be reminded that all that I have is a gift of God’s grace. Apart from His strong hand being present in my life I believe I could be an alcoholic, addicted to all sorts of vices, selfishly abusing others for my own gain, and the list goes on and on… We must humble ourselves before our Maker and with thankfulness, submit ourselves in surrender. Just like the parable of the talents, to whom much is given, much is required.
Let us rejoice for the life that God has given us and the means with which He has blessed us. He desires that we give it all back to Him and give our lives away to point to the wonderful gospel message and to the cross. For it is here that we find true life.
So next time you see a homeless man, remember that could be you and thank God for His grace. You might also want to take him for a cup of coffee and lose some of your fear of the unknown.
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Kia Ora (Hello) from a krazy blogger down under in New Zealand. “You never judge a book by its cover” !!! It’s the interior that matters not the exterior.