I love attending Sunday morning worship service. I know God shows up every Sunday in our small town church and it is an absolutely incredible experience to be able to feel His amazing presence - it energizes me for the week ahead. But as much as I love going to church, I recently had to step back and ask myself if I was not just attending church, but was I also being the church? It is one thing to sit in church to worship and learn but it is something totally different to apply what you learn and reflect the image of Christ to the people outside of the church doors. This past year it seems like I have had an unquenchable knowledge thirst to learn as much as I can about His word but I have been reminded several times recently that Christ did not call us to be theologians but to be disciples of men.
My illness has definitely grown me spiritually and has made me seek and trust God like never before but sometimes I think that I have spent so many years being a “patient” and on the receiving end of people’s help that I sometimes forget to be a “giver” and “pay it forward.” Lately, God has been challenging me to be more than a listener of the word - to step out of my comfort zone and start being a “doer” of the word. He has poured His grace on me to restore my health and I feel it is now time for me to pour that same grace on others.
I am blessed with two amazing friends Randy and Ronda who are full time missionaries. The have dedicated their lives to “being the church” and have inspired me to try and do the same. Ronda recently taught me about prayer walking where they walk around in communities in need and cover them in intense spiritual warfare of intercessory prayer while they actually witness and experience the people and their needs. Hearing their stories of prayer walking has reminded me of the community of downtown Baton Rouge where I worked from 2002 - 2008. Everyday for 6 years I would see homeless people outside of my office sleeping on benches and eating out of the garbage cans. Like most people, I would turn my head as if not seeing it meant it wasn’t happening.
I am now blessed to work close to home in my cozy little suburban hometown but I often think of those needy people downtown and it is very disheartening to me how little compassion they receive. Last week I felt challenged to get a little “uncomfortable” and return downtown to offer someone in need a little food and prayer. Armed with a couple of Packaged sub sandwiches and bottled water, I headed for the office I used to work at in downtown Baton Rouge in search of someone in need. While driving around looking for a place to park, I noticed a guy on a bicycle with a backpack and plastic bags tied to his bicycle. After crossing him for the 4th time, I finally realized this was the guy that I was called to help that day. I rolled down the window half way and offered him a sandwich. He enthusiastically accepted and was very appreciative. His name was Alexander and he told me that he had been circling around for a shelter that was handing out bag lunches that day. He said “I guess I don’t need to search anymore because my prayers have just been answered.” My heart sank and I was deeply humbled as I thought about what it would be like for my top prayer request each day was simply to be able to find something to eat or a warm place to stay. The sad reality is that this could be me or anyone of us at anytime. Look around at our world today and you will see that we are all just a few paychecks, one bad decision or one serious illness from being in Alexander’s situation. I don’t know what circumstances in his life have brought Alexander to this point, that is between him and God, but he gladly allowed me say a prayer for him.
I believe that when a person gets to a point in their life where they have to sleep on a bench, eat out of a garbage can or stand on the corner holding a cardboard sign, no matter what their circumstances, is in serious need of a little compassion. Feeding Alexander lunch was not a life changing event, it was just a small expression of compassion. I was simply being the church. God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need. The next time I see someone like Alexander, I pray that I will act on the feelings of compassion I have in my heart rather than the feelings of fear and assumptions I have in my head. Even if its only a smile and a short prayer, its better than ignoring the fact that there is another human being standing there in need of help. May we always remember to “Do unto others, as you would have done unto you” - not just in good times, but in bad times as well.
