Something I learned one day during the softball camp in the Ukraine is how easily we can dismiss people or conversations we have by believing they are not taking things seriously or they don’t appear to want to change or they are just “sinful” looking and acting. We don’t want to be around them. So why bother, we make a judgment about them and move on, and that’s the end of that.
One day at the camp, a couple of drunk guys came up to me and some of my teammates and started talking to us. They would laugh and joke, especially since we didn’t know their language. But, we had a translator nearby who helped mediate and they did ask us some questions that led to conversations about God. Even though from all appearances it seemed they didn’t hear anything, I knew there was a reason they came by. I believe seeds were planted. They came back the next two days and on both days my teammates gave awesome testimonies about drugs and alcohol and finding a much better “high” in God. But, a few people asked us why we would talk to them-they are drunk after all. Even in my heart, I at first thought to dismiss them. But, realized it wasn’t a threatening environment, they weren’t mocking or being belligerent. They are people, they need love just like I did and do. Who did Jesus often hang out with, the SINNERS. Those that LOOKED like sinners. Not the ones that put on a religious face, but whose hearts were wicked. The prostitutes, the tax collectors. Even if these guys’ intentions were to just get a good laugh as they first approached us, God can still move in spite of that.
But, how quickly we can dismiss people who may be on the cusp of hearing something that will sink into their spirits and save their life that day or the next. I pray for more grace and love for people. People come to Jesus because of his love, forgiveness and acceptance of them not because he dismisses them and DOESN’T BELIEVE IN WHO THEY CAN BE. We were/are all sinners, it just might look different on the outside. I may not be outright drunk one day, but one day I know I have had anger. I need Him as much as those guys do. If Jesus would have dismissed me because of my behavior, I’d be in big trouble. But, he doesn’t. He opens his arms to us and says come to me. I don’t have judgment to give you, but LOVE, MERCY, FORGIVENESS.
Our contacts from the Ukraine, the MacDonald’s, told us a true story about a drunk guy coming to their house one day. As I mentioned before, they are the only house on their road and probably in the entire city that does not have a gate. One thing I noticed in most of the Eastern European countries is a distrust, people keep to themselves, and close off. Yes, these countries have been through a lot. But, I pray a softening takes place, that the hardness is melted, that the “gate” is removed, that my own gate continues to be removed. This young guy had just had a birthday party and got drunk. It was a cold winter in the Ukraine, and he apparently passed out in the snow away from home. His friends left him. He wakes up, he’s wet and he’s freezing. He gets up and tries to find his way on foot back home. But, he’s so cold and needs help. He goes and knocks on door after door, no one opens the door for him. Finally, he gets to the MacDonald’s house. They open the door for him. He comes in and says he needs help. They take the wet clothes off. He begins to get warm, but he has frostbite. His frostbite is severe. He tells them that he knocked on so many houses and they are the only ones who opened the door for him. He goes to the hospital and his toes have to be amputated on his left foot. If they had not opened the door, this guy probably would have died. Bruce MacDonald put it well when he said, “Don’t build walls around your house and keep your front door accessible to all.” This means our hearts too. Just like the guys from the camp, you never know how being open to others and not dismissing them can change someone’s life, or save it.
