About a month ago, I was driving home from work. We had had a busy night and were short-staffed so there wasn't really time for a dinner break. It was already eleven at night and cooking just wasn't going to be in the cards for me. The golden arches would have to do. Usually, that time of night isn't very crowded. That night was different. I sat in the drive thru line for what felt like hours. I had just begun to zone out replaying the events from the day in my head. I noticed something moving in the area where they keep the dumpsters out back. What was it? An animal looking for food? No. As I stared a bit deeper, I noticed the shoes of a large man in worn clothes moving back and forth and a bottle of whiskey tucked close to his side. God? What am I supposed to do? I could take him food…but wait. He’s drunk. That would be too dangerous. So I continued through the drive thru and went home.
Yeah that’s missionary material right there…
This is the story I shared with my High School kids in Sunday School yesterday. We’ve been talking about what it looks like to be like Jesus over the last few weeks and this story seemed fitting. How can I teach these kids to be like Jesus when I drove away from a man sleeping in a dumpster? A DUMPSTER!!! How can I go on the World Race and ask people to support me when I didn’t make sure he was full? Those questions plus so many more have raced through my head making me feel inadequate to be this so called missionary.
Missionaries are perfect. They know the Bible backwards and forwards and could quote Scripture better than any scholar. They pray at least ten times a day, maybe more. Right? The have Bibles that are barely held together because of all the use they’ve gotten out of it. I mean they are the modern day Mother Theresa’s of the world. Oh, Satan. You almost had me. Missionaries are none of those things. They are everyday people who have accepted a calling on their life just like a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or firefighter. We should all be missionaries. We should all be striving for the same purpose. Loving everyone we meet. A love that is so deep and giving it had to have come from the Father.
At the end of the lesson I gave my kids a challenge. Through my experience I realized I needed to do more HERE! The only way I can get them to truly understand God’s love is to show them examples and let them experience it for themselves. I challenged them to find as many blankets as they could that we could collect over the next few weeks to distribute downtown since we are now coming up on the winter months. This is something so small but could have such a big impact.
I’ve also made it a way for them to hold me accountable. It’s not ok for me to spend the next seven months waiting impatiently for my funds to go up or for the days to pass so I can hop on my plane and go to the nations. God no doubt has given me a heart for overseas missions. Anyone who knows me knows that much. That doesn’t have to mean that I neglect what’s going on right in front of me. That homeless man opened my eyes to what they’ve been missing.
Matthew West has a song out called Do Something. If you’ve never heard it please take the time to listen…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I2csO7_pOI
Let's Do Something. It's what we're created for.
