Learning Love, Erasing Lines

It's great, even easy to help the needy when we feel like it. We simply get in the car and drive downtown with a Church group or soup kitchen, talk to a few people, serve a meal and get back in the car and drive back to our cozy lives. Whether we recognize it or not, there is a very distinct line that is drawn and crossed when we do these things. We cross boundaries of expectation, culture and class. This line is ever present, locked in by our culture, society, and for many of us our upbringing. We choose to cross the line when we feel like it but what about that homeless guy you fed? He can't just get in his car and cross the line. He is trapped on his side by his situation and means, leaving the ball totally in your court if you should chose to return.

So what about when this line is blurred and the two worlds become one? Today I experienced that. I'm not proud to say it made me feel awkward and uncomfortable; yet more convicted than I have felt in a long time.

Today I had lunch with a dear friend who continually challenges me in my faith by his bold, selfless pursuit of Christ. His actions and words continually reflect the Lord and his life is a testimony of Christ's love.

We met for lunch in Hoover at a restaurant I've been to many a time. Let's state the obvious and say that this is Hoover... I would venture to say 99% of the people in the room, myself included, have no idea what it means to go without. We've never felt hunger that couldn't be quickly satisfied or had a need that couldn't quickly be met with a quick trip to the store or a call to Mom & Dad.

This is the culture I'm submerged in, the culture I know. I don't say that pridefully, but rather gratefully, recognizing the Lord's abundant blessings in my life. There is nothing wrong with going to a restaurant and eating a nice meal, but what about when a homeless man walks in the door?

The room is full of families, businessmen and people taking a break from exuberant Christmas shopping. All are clean, polished and well dressed so there is an obvious contrast when a man walks in with a shabby coat, backpack and a smell that can't quite be explained. People stare, whisper and immediately begin making assumptions. His appearance is taken in and he is automatically labeled after his "sob story" has been mentally written in each head. Consideration falls to the filth as opposed to his needs and how he came to the place we now find him.

I cannot judge a room full of people but let's not pretend like this man's presence didn't cause a stir in the place. I was just as surprised as they. In my head I began to wonder who he was, if he was safe, and how in the world he ended up in X in Hoover? In my friend's head thoughts as opposite as possible begin to whir: Was this man hungry? Does he know Jesus? Is he lonely? I focused on questions that could not and did not need to be answered while my friend simply saw this man as a someone to be loved. Funny how you start thinking about what love means and all of a sudden you notice the Lord teaching you tangibly...

My friend quickly befriended this man and the three of us, along with another friend sat down to lunch. There I sat in a booth with two other clean, well off college students eating my fru fru lunch with a man that was filthy, smelled, and had tattered clothes and crazy hair. In that moment I was absolutely speechless for the thoughts swirling in my head and the evidence of the Lord at work. In my speechlessness we listened to this man's story and my friend shared the gospel with him.

It's easy to get in my car and go to Urban Purpose or We Will Go (which are both awesome organizations!) but what about when someone is on my turf, in my context? What is the big difference and why is this even questioned? Our new friend needed Jesus just as desperately in that moment in that restaurant as he did on the street corner or sleeping in his car at night and just as much as you and I do each day. What an incredible reminder that there are people all around us needing the love of a Savior, a friend to talk to and someone to show them that compassion is out there and they do matter. This is the Christmas season of giving and loving and most of all celebrating the birth of our Savior. We find it easy to put money into the Salvation Army bucket every time we leave the mall but when we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle are we really taking the time to stop and love those around us? I hope this challenges you as much as it does me. Remember to keep your eyes open and see people as Jesus does: each one in desperate need of a Savior. I need Jesus each day just as desperately as a homeless man, businessperson, or Church member. It's about time we allow Jesus to erase those lines.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:35