Feed the Hungry (soul)
As Christians we desire the good that God has done for us to be had by others, especially the poor and the marginalized.
God desires this too.
As much as we want to, we just can’t make this happen for others. We can love them by introducing them to God’s love, but they must respond to God’s love for themselves.
We can’t respond for them.
God can’t respond for them.
We can only make the offer.
The promise of Life in Christ is for all-
Mercy is there. Grace to respond is there, provided by God’s Spirit.
But the will to respond is only from our side. Our will must meet God’s offer of mercy and grace.
So what is the Christian’s responsibility? We must share the Gospel. The Gospel is not only action, it is also words.
In this world Christians are chastised for using words, “you must stop talking about God and prayer and do something,” they say, “a hungry person can’t hear the Gospel.”
Maybe not, but they just might. If I don’t happen to have food or money to share, does this mean I should refrain from sharing the Gospel? Should I just walk past and not even mention that God loves them?
There is an even deeper hunger in every soul; the hunger to know the love of God. Every single human being was created with this innate need. Sometimes just a simple reminder, in words, that God loves them, to someone who is hungry, hurting and alone can make all the difference.
Of course if I have bread, I must share it, but to share bread without the words of the gospel will only feed the person for a little while. If I share the Word of God, which is the Bread of Life, I have given them food that leads to eternal life.
Maybe they’ve heard it all before.
Maybe. But maybe this time will be the Providential, kairos moment that makes all the difference to their eternal soul.
A Life Update
Kim and I have returned to Jesus People USA. We’ve been here for almost two weeks now. We’ve been painting and hanging shelves in our rooms. We should be starting our jobs for the community early next month. We are glad to be serving the Lord in this context again.
Jesus People USA (JPUSA) is a Christian ministry in the city of Chicago where we live in intentional community and serve the poor and those experiencing homelessness. We believe that the Holy Spirit works in the context of shared community to form our souls in ways that simply cannot happen in normal life. We lived here for two years and then left for a while to live the normal life in St Louis to live near our kids and help with our grandson for a couple of years. Leaving was definitely heart wrenching! But we believe God has called us to return to this place.
I’ll be sharing more about life here in future posts.
Pax et Bonum (peace and all good)