Since Amber is out of the country this week on a mission trip to Romania, I’m going to share a flash back post today. This post is from 4 years ago and I’m still mulling these ideas over and beginning to act on them in small ways. How might God be encouraging you to act on them today? 

www.shc.edu/theolibrary/homeless.htm

Reading Crazy Love by Chan, I’m convicted that I need to change some things. I need to not only show up everyday and sit with God, but I also need to put the ideas he gives me during that time into practice. I cannot begin to tell you how hard acting on these good intentions is for me. I’m excellent at rationalizing why they wouldn’t be good ideas.

For example, helping those who are poor or in need. When God gives me an idea, even when the person is practically next door to me, I rationalize why it would be unsafe and a bad idea. Well going into that neighborhood is dangerous. Do you know how often that section of town ends up on the six o’clock news? Me pulling in there in my bright yellow Xterra to help that person is just asking for trouble. And my list goes on, and I do nothing.

It just occurred to me, however, that helping those less fortunate is rarely safe. Besides the risk of putting yourself out there expecting nothing back, they don’t exactly live in safe neighborhoods. If they did, they probably wouldn’t be in need of our help.

So why then does Jesus emphasize time and time again (Matt. 25:31-46, Luke 12:33-34, Luke 14: 12-14) and by his own example show us the importance of helping those in need? Yes, I’m aware that we can also help that friend down the street and the sweet elderly lady in the nursing home, which would be safe, but though those things are very good, by his example and teaching he wants us to leave the safety of what is comfortable. He emphasizes that we are to leave what is comfortable (Matt. 8:18-22, 10:37-39) and to not to cling to the things here (Matt. 6:19-21) but to lay up treasures in heaven. So how do we do this? How do we propel ourselves out of what is comfortable and into what is eternal?