After spending hours running errands and dealing with the death that is Baton Rouge traffic, I had no desire to make my way to Hobby Lobby for my final errand. I decided I would hate it more to have to take care of the matter the next day, so I turned up the music in my car and chose to deal with being irritated for another 20 to 30 minutes. What I didn't realize is how humbled and thankful I was about to be, all because of a small, subtle choice.
When I see a homeless person, I tend to avoid eye contact and walk quickly past them as horrible as that is to say. Well, on this day, the woman I tried to avoid made direct eye contact with me and asked for a dollar. As I handed her one, she began to cry and said, "I don't know what to do anymore." As she sobbed in front of me, I had a strange calmness come over me, and I did something I've never done before. I sat down with her, and I asked her what was wrong.
The woman began to tell me she didn't understand why God wouldn't let her die and proceeded to tell me about her life and the troubles she has faced. She told me she didn't understand why she was still here because she felt like her life wasn't making a difference. Overwhelmed with emotion, I told her how loved and valued she was in the eyes of God and that no mistake that she has made could ever change that. After about 20 minutes, I told her I had to go, and she grasped my hands. No, she didn't grasp them to ask for money or to ask for a ride. She asked if I would pray for her. Though it was sad to leave her, I was so thankful for that woman being put into my life even if it was a short period of time.
I'm telling you this story because the Lord revealed something to me that day. Far too often, we tend to not view homeless people as people. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's time to change the way we view things.
Homeless people are not broken beyond repair. The Lord loves them and sees them as His creation, just like you and me. They have emotions. They hurt. They desire love. I don't know about you, but I have those same qualities and desires, too. These people long for human contact and conversation as much as we do, and they deserve that attention. I'm not saying go do exactly what I did, but what I am saying is the next time you see someone that is homeless, remember that they are a child of God just like you.
Every single person on this earth has a purpose, and whether or not you have a place you call home shouldn't define that. You want to know why? Because God has prepared an eternal home for us in Heaven where he desires for us to be. The Bible does not say that you enter the gates of Heaven through your social status on Earth but by the belief and following of Jesus Christ. Romans 10:13 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." That opportunity to follow the Lord is not limited to a certain group of people but to all of God's children. If Christ sees each and every one of us as His divine creations, who are we to view the homeless in a negative way? Each person, homeless or not, is worthy of God's love.
