“Give to the one who begs from you…� Matthew 5:42
I am memorizing Matthew 5 with a friend back home. It has been perfect because I am weak at memorizing scripture, and it is encouraging share what God is teaching us through it.
As I walk with Ryan G down a busy road at night to get food a little girl comes up and clings to my arm. It is obvious she wants money. The verse above pops into my mind.
We are advised not to give children money because more often than not they have to give it to their guardian who then uses it for drugs or alcohol. I have no food on me.
She continues to walk with us, jumping and crying out.
I want to stop walking because this girl is getting further and further away from home and we are walking down a busy road in India.
I pray, I guess that is what I can give. What would Jesus do? I don’t know for sure but what I envision is Him taking her up in His arms, sitting on the curb with her, talking with her and making her laugh.
Someone from a nearby store yells at her. She stops and turns around.
Today, a lady with a huge tumor on her throat walks up to me and holds out her hand, and few minutes later an old man hobbles over to me with his arm stretched out.
First thing that pops into my head, “God, what am I supposed to do? I want to help…� I know that God loves them just as much as He loves me. Every country I visited always has beggars asking for money, but it is hitting me harder this time. Would Jesus just ignore them like I have been doing? Would He just say, “Sorry,� and walk away?
My next thought is selfish; I wish I wasn’t white. When people see me all they see is a money sign. If I could hide my skin color I wouldn’t be bothered. But wait, what a blessing to be “bothered.â€� I get more attention…not ignored…I can be more of a light for Christ.
But how?
At college there were always a lot of beggars and God convicted me I was not loving them. It was so true…I found them to be annoying rather than a dearly loved person God created. My brother, Nate had a great idea. He would take them to Wendy’s buy them lunch and just sit and talk with them (actually more listen). How brilliant! More than money these people just want to be loved, to know that someone cares about them, to hear what they have to say. Every day they are turned down, ignored, and given dirty looks. But by Nate taking an hour out of his day, sitting and listening was a huge testimony of God’s love for them.
I can’t sit and talk with them because I don’t know their language. Yes, I can pray, but they don’t feel that love when I turn my back on them and walk away praying. How can I show them God’s love in-action? We are called to give to those who beg. By what means? Maybe buying them food, maybe I do just need to sit down beside them and pray out loud. But what about when about every 20 steps someone comes up to me begging?
If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!
