I Am Homeless

I am homeless, drinking my meals so I don't have to feel the depression and fear;

I am homeless, addicted to drugs that I take to chase away the pain and the tears;

I am homeless, I have no one, no family and friends who will help me out here;

I am homeless, and you chase me from doorways and sidewalks where I stay

I am homeless, and you won't even let me find rest for an hour or a day

I am homeless, and you won't hear my story, you're afraid what I'll say.

I am homeless: forgotten, unloved, unwanted, and cold.

I am homeless: the veteran, the addict, the drunkard, the old.

I am homeless: the mother, the child, the abused, the broken, the untold.

I am homeless, there's no room in the inn left for me

I am homeless, a stranger to a strange land I flee

I am homeless, sheltering on the ground beneath a tree

I am Jesus, your savior, in these faces you see

I am Jesus in the homeless, won't you serve me?

I am Jesus, who gave my life for yours, nailed to a tree.

I wrote this tonight because of a Bible study I attended yesterday.  It was mentioned in the group that one of the things that tends to come to mind as reasons why people don't help the homeless is that some of them did this to themselves.  That's true.  Some of them did.  Some of them have made very poor choices in life, and that is why they are homeless now.

However, if we all got what we truly deserved for the sins that we have committed, there wouldn't be a single one of us still alive.  That we have a roof over our heads is not proof that we are a better person than they are, or that we are more deserving of a home than they are.  It is proof that God's mercy is great, and that in spite of our sins and our own personal failings, He is willing to continue trusting us to be stewards of His wealth.  In spite of the times we have passed by Him and ignored Him in His need, God continues to trust us with a home and an income in the hopes that He can lead our hearts to soften toward our brothers and sisters in need.

If we help them today, won't they just end up misspending the money or needing help all over again tomorrow? Probably.  People who are homeless often carry many and very deep spiritual wounds that aren't going to be healed overnight.  Think about the moment you came to Jesus and asked Him to be part of your life. Did you stop sinning that instant? Haven't you fallen, time and time again, and needed to be picked back up and helped along your way?  I know I have, but I know that each time I fell and rose again I became a little bit stronger and a little bit better at managing life.  If you've kept up with my blog you know I've got a long way to go yet, but I'm working on it.

I leave you with these words from Scripture:

"Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.…" - Matthew 18:21-22