Just returned from the first church service at the homeless shelter. And although it wasn't the regular Pastor giving the message, it was still wonderful to be gathered in the name of Jesus.
There weren't many of us, which surprised me on one hand, and saddened me on the other. I figured there might be more believers out there. I'm not sure why I expected there to be more people there. To be honest, I thought perhaps they might go even if it was just to keep warm, and somewhere dry and warm to hang out for an hour. But, I suppose not everyone wishes to hear of the Lord in a service type setting. But, they will be recipients of His "love", and perhaps without even knowing it.
Christianity in part, is just that. The proclamation of God's love, and mercy for us. There is no human being out there, that is not of sin, and unworthy of God's love. And as we sat and sang to open the service today, even the older gentleman, with one arm, knew all the words to the songs. He must have been there before, maybe even a regular, and by the sounds of it, even he was going to the very same place that I will be. Heaven. Another naive thought on my part, that for some reason, there would be only people "like me" there. As if to say there are prerequisites based on gender and race and status in society to get into heaven. Nope. There's only one way in and that is through Jesus Christ.
The one-armed man singing the praises to the Lord, the older woman with chipped black fingernail polish, and the woman with no less than 100 hairclips tightly fastened to her head; they're all going to share the Lord's house WITH me. And for that I am not only embarrassed to say that somehow in my upbringing I still regard them as 'different', but I am forever grateful for the experiences and opportunities that God puts before me, to humble me to know that we are nothing different in the eyes of the Lord.
I didn't stay much past the closing hymn of course, feeling a bit awkward and all, but I did manage to say "see ya later" to a nice older man, kind of shy looking, sitting in the back, and I nodded and smiled to a young couple no more than fresh out of their teens. I'm glad they were there, even if it was to keep warm. They will have heard something today, they might remember that God loves us all the same, even though there are people like me in the world, who just can't seem to get a handle on it. But I am trying. I continue to pray to the Lord for guidance and wisdom on my every move. And perhaps one day, through the opportunities He lays before me, will I finally make a difference to someone's life. Well, perhaps I already have, but who knows.
What I do know is that the love that pours out of me, is the love that Jesus pours into me. And I have every right and obligation to share that with someone else, and to give it away at no charge to its recipient. I am to ever be reminded to remain humble in life, leave my past life behind, and listen and obey the word of God. I am to be in this world, but not of this world. And although that all sounds nice on paper, or coming from a Pastors lips, it is forever a challenge for this human being.
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