Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus…
(Hebrews 12:1-2)
After I sat down, I saw transformation in Janice. Even though I did not have work for her and gave her no money, she began to talk to me about life. I could see in her eyes that she felt valued by me. We were now just two people sitting on a porch.
I replay many of these scenes through my head, wondering if I did the wrong thing. But the bottom line is that, if I am going to remain friends with Janice, I need to be honest with her. A lot of people share advice on beggars, but I often wonder if they actually live in a neighborhood where these same beggars are friends who they actually love and care about. (I’m not talking about the feedback you gave in the comments on last week’s post. I found that helpful and challenging.)
I also want to leave this with you to remind you of the true complexity of people’s requests. Jesus knew the hearts of everyone, but we do not. We are forced to go with what we can see and hear. We are forced to face the fact that the best way of loving someone isn’t always obvious or smooth.
“I thought, if I die, at least Katrina has my story. Maybe my life was worth something after all.”
Go hug someone from a different race than your own or tell them you love them. Weird? For a Christian, not as weird as ignoring them or looking the other way. Besides, you can tell someone you love them in a thousand different ways, and one of those ways will feel natural to you.
The world is desperately broken. Jesus is the only lasting answer. But people like Marnell and I who grew up in wonderful families on cozy green homesteads in the country, often struggle to know how to share Jesus in the hard places. We can’t save the world. Sometimes we want to run. But there is one thing that Jesus does for us, that we can all do for others.
