At Lifespring we have many opportunities to be a blessing to others, especially those who are in need. This past Sunday, we created 200 winter care-packages for the homeless. We had everyone who attended that day help assemble these winter care-packages, from children to parents to grandparents. It was truly a family effort.
One of the verses that seem to capture what we were doing is:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:16-18 NIV
I shared with the church that having a brother who lives homeless and in and out of shelters has been difficult to navigate for myself and my family, but God has been using my brother to shape my perspective in how I view those who are homeless or in similar situations/circumstances.
As I wrestled with experiences of seeing my brother being mistreated and devalued because of his physical appearance and circumstances, my heart broke for my brother and I wanted to do whatever I could to help him.
Typically when I see a homeless person, my initial thoughts are “there’s another random homeless person” but slowly the Holy Spirit has been convicting me in my thinking by asking me “If that was your brother what would you do?”
I realized that I was more willing to lay down my life for my brother than I would for a random homeless person.
I was reminded that God sees us as His sons and daughters whom he loves and created in His image. His love and genuine care for us is not dependent on our physical appearance, emotional and mental state, nor is it the situations or circumstances we are in.
I felt the Lord challenge my thinking further by telling me to consider who you are looking at. Perhaps that random homeless person is not random, nor are they just a homeless person but maybe they are someone’s father or mother, someone’s son or daughter, someone’s brother or sister, or even someone’s family or loved one.
My prayer for us all is that we may be filled with the love of God first and foremost. Let us demonstrate this love to one another by laying down our lives for them in the same way that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. If we have material possessions and see people as a brother, sister, father, mother, son, daughter and a part of our family. Let us love them not just with words and speech but with action and in truth.