Positive Monkey Wrenches

White beard and dirty clothes he sits there almost every day outside the local grocery store in our town. The first time I noticed him I initially thought, "Oh, I need to walk with my head down so as to not let him get my attention and beg for money." The next few times I noticed him I felt convicted to go talk to him but had no money on me at the time to offer to him or to go buy him a meal with so I let this be my excuse not to stop. It's been two weeks now and I haven't seen him up there at all. I was given a challenge a few weeks back at our church to take $5 that was given to us and give it to someone in need. I immediately thought of this man who always had a look of sadness yet a smile coming through it somehow. I went up there to try to see if he was there to give him this money and possibly start up a conversation with him but could not find him. I wonder how often we walk past people and do not even notice them or we do notice them but we choose to ignore them because they obviously just "want something from us" if we were to reach out?! What if Jesus walked past us everytime we were struggling or weren't presented in our best attire? What if he just ignored us and didn't talk to us or give us the opportunity to talk to Him? I have begun to pray for this man whose name I do not know and am praying that God will place him outside that store again soon so I can go talk to him and offer to buy him a meal or give him the money. What if by me walking past I was his only chance at hearing the gospel and by me ignoring the calling he is no longer here and I could of done something to at least plant a seed within him or handed him a tract or just an act of kindness to bring some joy to his life. In Matthew 7:2 it says, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. " As christians it is our job to love people not to condone them for improper choices made or prejudge them just because of their appearance. Matthew 9:10-12 it states, "while Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11)When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectos and sinners?" 12) ON hearing this Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor , but the sick. 13) but go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners. " 2 Corinthians 5:20 "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us, We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might becom ethe righteousness of God. " So I step back and ask myself, "What would Jesus of done? Who would Jesus of rejected? The answer is pretty clear....Jesus would not have walked past without stopping and speaking with this man. If we are christians we are to be becoming more like Him daily, right? So, then why is it so difficult to walk up to someone we do not know and just speak with them? As we enter this Easter Season we must remember the sacrifice that was given so that we could have eternal life. Wouldn't it be awesome if I went to the store tomorrow and that guy was sitting there on his bench and I could finally go up to him and not only have a regular conversation with him about his life, where is he from, how is he doing, etc...but could open up a door to talk about Easter and find out if he has any plans and if he realizes the true meaning of Easter and then proceed to share it with him. These are the moments I want to kick myself for not having done this already, but I believe that God knows I wanted to say something so I am going to pray that He allows me one more chance to see this man. And then of course He is going to have to give me the right words to share with him but I feel very strongly about this and just wish I had done it sooner. But our timing is not always God's timing. This was just a burden on my heart/mind for some time now and wanted to share it with whomever wanted to read about it. I think it should cause us to all pay better attention to those around us and try to see people through Jesus' eyes instead of our own. Ours will fail us more times then none but His eyes and word are never failing!!! My gut tells me that I will soon be meeting this guy and I need to jump on the opportunity that is given again to reach out to Him in a way that maybe no one else ever has. One kind word can change an entire person's day,life, thought process. We should all want to be the ones who deliver those kind words. I know I am wanting to be one of those. I just get stuck behind myself so often that it's hard to see anything else going on around me. I challenge myself and you to find one person this week who looks loney, hurt or in despair and dont' just chuck change at em try to find time for a meaningful conversation and even offer some food if they are hungry. In December I was given the opportunity to ride on a bus with some homeless people and I was able to speak with them about their lives and find out where they had come from and where they were headed and as I sat and listened I found myself more and more thankful for the house over my head, the jobs we have and the stability of a marriage does for me. I also heard sadness in their voices and hurt and anger, at themselves, the world, anything they could blame it on. Yet they had potentially moldable hearts ready to listen and take in anything I had to say. I do not know if anything that I said stayed with them but I will never forget them that's for sure! Any one of us can end up in a situation like that and we would want someone to reach out to us if we were that desolate, so why we do not think this when approaching others is beyond me. We get too caught up in our own lives and hustle and bustle and just disregard anyone who isn't in the plans for that day. Just remember that Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." so, sometimes monkey wrenches get thrown into our daily activities but instead of looking at them in a negative way why not see it in a positive manner as a sign from God to slow down, take a step back and go, confront and see what not only others will learn but you too will learn from taking that first step of obedience. Our lives will still be there hustling and bustling after we spend a few moments with a stranger. We may miss our show on tv cuz we stopped to help but I would rather miss that then the chance to see one more of God's creations come to know HIm in a personal way. Food for thought:If you are hungry, you eat, if you are hurting, you go to the dr. or talk with someone who can help. What if you did not have that available to you or felt you did not have it available? Having someone approach you with the answers and the help would definitely fix your problem you were having at the time and may cause you to become more hungry for more of what they have to say. We just never know what ONE single act of kindness can do and how far it can spread. Try it this week....You'll be amazed after you do. I've decided to call my "friend" Bob until I can discover what his actual name is! I'll keep you posted on if/when I am able to locate him and talk to him and how our conversation goes.
When God is telling us to do something we ought to listen at that moment or else that moment may just fly by and it's so much harder to get it back after its' gone. And then like me, we carry the regret around with us and let me tell you it's not a light load to bear! Blessings to you all as we seek to reach out and touch someone!!! Make a difference in their lives as well as your own!