Today I saw the church. Today I saw faith. Today I saw love.
Today I was able to come home for long enough to go to my home church since leaving for college. Nothing was different about this Sunday morning as we pulled into the parking lot, groggy and in desperate need of coffee. There were young children desperately clinging to the edges of their mother’s coats as the November wind whipped around them. There were women with curled hair, men with tattoos, older couples and college students, each eagerly awaiting the message that day. Among the BMW’s, the minivans, the happy families and the people who looked like they needed this day more than anything, there were two men with carts trying to escape the cold by laying under the bus stop. It’s not an uncommon sight. Our church is in the middle of Atlanta, and seeing the homeless is just a part of another Sunday morning. No one looks towards these men, their eyes and hearts set only on finding the best seat in the house. When we got back after the service, they had not left and looked colder than ever. Before we pulled out, my father gave money to my brother and his best friend, and they hopped right out without another word.
I didn’t expect what I saw next.
I expected barely a passing glance, two boys running to give money and quickly running back to the warmth of the car. I expected the uncomfortable and awkward gift of a few dollars to two men that is so typical of the wealthy to the homeless.
Today, I watched as two boys shook the hands of men who could not physically get up. I watched as they introduced themselves, asked about how these two men were doing, and then I watched as they both got on their knees, put a hand on the shoulder of the men, and I watched as they prayed over two men who just needed someone to see them as a human being.
Today, I watched as they both took the jackets off their backs without a second thought to give to two men who were colder than they were. And today, I saw two men cry as we drove away. Today, I saw the love of Christ.
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6-7
It’s so easy for us as Christians, isn’t it? It’s so easy for us to buy new shoes, sweaters to keep us warm, to spend unspeakable amounts of money while our fellow humans starve – all so we can stand in church and say, “praise be to God, the One who gives and takes away,” never stopping to think that we might in fact be the ones who need a change of heart.
We were made to be vessels to the Lord. We were made to show His all-surpassing power through incredible generosity and incredible love, and yet, children are still sitting in orphanages, desperate for a home and a family. The dignity of young girls is being sold for a couple dollars every night because there is not a great enough cry from the public. The homeless still thirst, still go hungry. Non-profits are not able to continue because there is not enough funding to support them. We claim to be open vessels, asking the Lord to please use us as we turn a blind eye to those who need us the most and sweep our money back into the bank.
God is calling each and every one of us to be a jar of clay, to be an ever-present light shining His glory for all the world to see. God is calling us to love with open arms, just as He died on the cross, reaching not out to His followers, not out to other Christians, not out to help Himself but instead, to two criminals. God is calling out to each and every one of His followers, asking that they be an image of Him, that they be an image of His love.
In a world of greed, in a world of name-calling, of cheating, of deadbeat dads, of broken families, broken hearts, countries tearing apart at the seams, in a world of drugs or divorce, God is asking that we do what He has given us life to do: be the jar of clay.
