The post where Anna saw Jesus

Disclaimer: No goats are harmed, or even mentioned, in the making of this blog post.


Wednesday nights we have Bible study at our church, and although I'm not perfect about attending, I try to make sure we always go. There are times when I'm too lazy, or don't feel good, or have any number of excuses and don't go, I'll admit that. But tonight we had planned to go. First, we met my son for an early supper at the Japanese restaurant, (which was really an awesome surprise from him). As we left the restaurant with our full bellies and and boxes of leftovers, I drove through the parking lot. As I passed by one store in the shopping center, Anna and I noticed a man sitting on the sidewalk. He had a duffel bag by his side and a cardboard sign that said "homeless and starving, please help me". I stopped and asked Anna if she wanted to give him some money. She said yes, of course. I found a few dollars in quarters and she hopped out of the car. I let her go over by herself, to let her have the full experience of this by herself, not hiding behind Mommy. I'm not sure what she said to him, but he reached up, hugged her, and then shook her hand and told her thank you.

Yes, I know some of you are freaking out right now. I know what you are thinking.

  You let a homeless man hug her?

 What if he was a pervert?

 Or stinky and smelly?

 Or or or? 

 Yes, he was stinky and smelly, because I could smell it on her clothes when she got back in. He wasn't a pervert. He was genuinely grateful.

Guess what she saw?

SHE...SAW...JESUS.

How did she possibly see Jesus in a dirty, smelly old man with a bloodied and scratched face and torn clothing? A man who owned nothing but a few items in a duffel bag? How could I say she saw Jesus?

Matthew 25:37-40-Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when we did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"

The KING will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

We gave him about $4, and left. As we drove,  she told me about his injured face, and we decided to take some bandaids back over to him after we did our next errand. The errand took longer than we thought (which made us miss church), and by the time we got back over there, he was gone. We looked for him around town but found no sign of him. She's talked about him ever since. What he might be going through...Will he get to a shelter tonight, or be arrested? What else we could have done  for him? Bought him some food from the grocery store nearby instead of just the money, gave him bandaids right away, gave him our leftovers?

Most importantly, we talked about how helping someone like this man is exactly how to show God's love. Like the above verses teach us, when we help someone who needs it, it is just like we are doing it for Jesus.

Now, I know exactly what some of you are thinking.

He's probably just going to spend that money on alcohol or drugs, so why bother? 

You didn't do anything that will really help him, that was just a waste of money.

It's probably his fault he is in the situation to begin with, so he doesn't need your sympathy.

He might not even be homeless, he might just be scamming people. You just got used.

Every one of those statements might well be true. But if you are a Christian, and are thinking along these lines...

SHAME ON YOU!

Show me one place in the Bible where our actions only count if the person we are doing them for has honest actions. I'm waiting... Can't find one? Didn't think so.

Yes, I am well aware of the verse that says "if a man will not work, he shall not eat". 2 Thes 3:18. But you know what? That speaks of his actions, not our own. If we think we don't have to do for others unless we can prove they will be perfect, my friends we are dead wrong. I will be be judged by God for MY actions, no one else's. 

As soon as we got home tonight, Anna began making up bags to keep in the car in case we see this man again, or any other homeless person. Our small town doesn't have a lot of visible homeless, at least not that I see. In fact, he's the first one I think I've seen in town. I'm not naive enough to think it's not a problem, but I just don't come across them. We'll be better prepared next time, and I hope there will be a next time.

She learned so much tonight and saw so many parts of the Bible in action. She understands now, in a way that no Bible class could ever teach, what 1 John 4:21 really means: And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother".