8.03.2011

Without a home?

Meet Dan. Dan is homeless. Dan wasn't always a homeless man living on the streets. He used to be a VP for a major firm in New York. He had a wife, 3 kids, and a dog named Scruffy. Dan also had a huge house and several nice cars. One day, Dan's world came crashing down. The major firm he worked for went bankrupt and Dan was one of the first people to be laid off. Dan didn't lose everything he loved right away - it took several months for his house to be foreclosed on and his cars to be repossessed. After those were gone, so were his wife and kids. Dan was left to live a life out on the streets and receive disgusted looks from passer-by's in New York. How would you react to Dan if you saw him or someone like him? Would you roll your eyes and keep walking or stop and give him money not knowing if it was going to get him beer or food?
I think that question is something we'd all have a hard time truly answering because by the outward appearance of that man, he doesn't look trustworthy. But Dan was actually a devout member of a church in NYC and didn't wreck his life by using drugs or alcohol, he simply lost his job and all else followed.

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." - Hebrews 13:1-2

This passage really inspired me and got me to thinking. What if a homeless person is an angel? God tells us in this passage that someone we meet very well could be. Why not treat everyone we meet with respect and do our best to help them with whatever needed?
The man I spoke about was not a real man - I made all that up. However, there more than likely is someone like him out there.

What do you think?

-Cherish

1 comment:

  1. "34Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'
    Matthew 25:34-40

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