For the Least of These

“What I am about to tell you is true: whatever you did for the least [important] of my people, you did it for me."  --Matthew 25:40

Jazmin was raised by an alcoholic father for the first 8 years of her life.  She ran away from a foster home at age 12 to escape the father who beat her on a regular basis.  Today at 18, she lives on the street, doing whatever to survive.  She steals food to eat, gives herself to strange men for money, and does drugs or alcohol whenever she can to escape her pain and loneliness.  She learned about the love of God when she was in prison.  “Knowing Jesus loves a person like me gives me some hope.”

We live in the wealthiest county in Michigan, yet 1,500 people had no place to live yesterday.  With only 400 emergency shelter beds in Oakland County – 1,100 of our brothers and sisters slept in sub-zero temperatures last night. 

Jazmin’s story is not unique but it’s not typical either.  Some homeless have graduate degrees.  Others served in the military.  Some have disabilities.  Still others once held high-paying jobs, until:

·    Catastrophic illness wiped out their insurance coverage.

·    An ugly divorce stripped them of their families and their money.

·    They entered a death spiral of drugs and alcohol.

·    They felt abandoned by God.

There are hundreds of passages in the Bible about helping people in need.  Jesus tells us that we are one body in Christ.  Everyone – rich, poor, every race, all ages – has a legitimate role to play in that body.  Mother Theresa, who worked with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, reminded us too that God makes no distinction between rich and poor.  The rich are often poor in spirit, while the poor may lack many of the qualities the wealthy have.  God loves us all.  He wants us to care for each other.  Ultimately, we will be helping each other grow together into the body Christ envisioned where the rich save the poor and the poor save the rich.

Father in Heaven, Thank you for my countless blessings.  I know that everything I truly need – I already have!  Remind me that every Christian is spiritually “homeless.”  We  live in temporary shelters, however modest or extravagant, waiting to take  our place someday in the Lord’s mansion.