Sent to Serve

I think every church struggles with a the problem of a group of people that they have to be able to face. At Meridian Woods it was the college students. When they got them in, they had to be understanding how to treat them and approach them so as not to lose them.

At JBCoC, it's homeless people. It's difficult for people who have never been in that situation to be able to approach it with an open heart and be willing to serve them. What' that I say? Serve them? Why on Earth would I want to be a servant to someone that should be working for me? Because God commands it. Where you might ask.

Well turn your bibles to Acts 10. 

This is the story of Cornelius. He is a Roman Centurion, a man that is God fearing and a helper to the poor, but also a Pagan. The story goes something like this. 

Cornelius has a dream about Simon Peter, whom he has never met before, while praying and sends three men to go get him. Simon Peter has a dream about God commanding him that all men are equal and also all things that God create are clean. Upon hearing this message, the three men show up on his door and he travels with them. A JEW TRAVELING WITH PAGANS?!?!?! Yes, only in the Bible. So Peter shows up at Cornelius' house and begins to preach and eventually baptizes not only Cornelius, but all of his men as well.  

So what is the message in this? Well there are many of messages in all this. But the main one is this. It is said in the bible that God does not hear the prayers of those that do not turn to him. So why then did he hear the prayers of Cornelius? Because he did the one thing that God has a soft spot towards. He helped the poor, the defenseless, the oppressed. So was this the reason that God answered Cornelius' prayers and sent Peter to go make him a righteous man? 

The bible is filled with examples of the poor being helped and the rich being sent to hell. Example. Lazarus. Here is a story of a poor beggar left on the streets. A rich man is said to step over him every day and when the two died God told the rich man "you had many and he had none, now he has many and you have none."

  There are actually accounts in Malachi, and Ezekiel that the reason that Sodom was destroyed was because of the fact that they were so mean to their poor and oppressed. Now it probably didn't help any that they were filled with sexual sin, but still God has an eye for the poor. 

Still don't believe me when I say that God loves the poor? 

Here's the nail in the coffin. When Jesus came here, he gave up everything and became a poor man. When he started preaching he preached to poor and the crippled. 

When Jesus came, he became poor so that we might become rich. 

Why does God love the poor? Well, I can only make assumptions, but I guess it's because they are more receptive to the message. A poor man is going to believe the miracles of God before a rich man will. Why? Because a poor man can see them more. He isn't relying on his money to get him anything, he's relying on God to get him everything. 

I'm not saying go out and sell everything, lets all become poor. No. But we should however treat the poor, the homeless, the oppressed more like people and less like second class citizens. 

We belong to the Kingdom of God and as His servants we must do what he commands. What he commands is to help those people who are less fortunate than ourselves.

You know. I have a friend of mine that I used to date and was scheduled to marry at one point in time. Anyways, I took her out to dinner one time and it was a really nice dinner and we had left overs. We were on our way home and there was a man standing on the corner asking for money. So she rolls down the window and hands the guy the leftovers. At the time I thought WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I just paid for that meal and you're giving it away? WTF? 

Now I sit there and say, dang, I should have given mine away as well. Cause Ladies and Gentlemen, that's what God tells us to do. Help those that can't help themselves. 

I sit here today a humbled man. A man that has no job, no one to call my own, but still I have everything. Because I have God and Jesus. I have the spirit inside of me and that's all I will ever need. It really takes the wind out of your sail when you realize how ignorant of a Christian you have been over the past years. 

I found this diagram online and I think it describes everything that anyone could want to know about righteousness.

It's one thing to say you're a Christian. It's another to actually be a Christian. Am I willing to sacrifice time and money to those around me that are less fortunate? Am I ready to give what I have been given? 

My answer? Let's do this.