Recently, I had two flat tires. I had driven to my sorority meeting and as I was leaving, I noticed my wheel very difficult to move. I got out of the car and realized I had a flat tire. I drove to the nearest speedway and called my dad. As I was trying to pump air in my tire, I heard a voice behind me. It was a homeless man. I instantly began to panic. I made sure my dad knew someone, a man, was with me. I couldn't say he was homeless out of respect, but I was freaking out. I hurried and put my valve back on the tire and tried to leave. I realized just how flat my tire was, realized I couldn't make it home and came back. He came back over and said the other tire looked a little low and I expressed I was fine and didn't need help.
While I was on the phone with my dad again, I realized that I had a portable air pump in my trunk. I pulled it out and the man helped me get enough air in my tires to get home. I expressed my gratitude and asked if I could get him any food from the gas station. He said he could use a beer, but being under 21, I couldn't purchase that for him. I thanked him again and safely drove home.
Looking back now, I am ashamed of how I acted. In Mark 1:40-45, we hear the story of Jesus healing a leper. Leperocity was a terrible, common skin disease in biblical times. When someone had leprosy, they would be shunned and no one would want to be around or speak to them. Instead of Jesus shunning the man, he healed him and told them to not tell anyone.
John 3:14 tells us, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
We're meant to love everyone, just as Jesus did. We are meant to treat everyone with respect no matter if they're homeless, a leper, poor, rich, sick, or healthy. Did I show that love to the homeless man who graciously helped me? No. I was cruel and acted like I didn't want him around. I should have been telling him about Jesus and his love for him.
Jesus was known to care for those who no one else wanted to care for.
If he was physically present on Earth today, he wouldn't be in the church pretending that everything is fine as many Christians do.
He would be on the streets witnessing to the homeless, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, and the sick. I believe it would be rare to find him in a church every single Sunday.
I'm not saying that everyone should quit going to church and instead fill the streets with God's word, but it wouldn't be a bad thing. We should be not excluding to only talk about God in the church. We should be proclaiming God's name everywhere. God wants us to tell people about him.
I should have talked to that homeless man about Jesus. It's one of my greatest regrets. Instead of fearing him, I should have been kinder and spoke about my relationship with God.
There's nothing wrong with being cautious and safe, but there is also nothing wrong with taking opportunities to tell people about God. So next time you're faced with an opportunity to witness, don't be scared like I was. God places these opportunities in our lives for a reason. We just have to have faith we will do better next time.
