PTL

Tonight I had an opportunity to watch a group of Christian believers portray the Gospel in their deeds. A disparaged man who wandered in off the streets to our Community Feed was ministered to in a holy way.

When the man, who I will call Tom, arrived at the hall where the feed was held, things were winding down. The hall had been cleaned up, tables stowed away, floor vaccumed, and the volunteers were taking care of last minute details before locking up & going home.

I was in the kitchen when someone asked me if there was any food left to give to the man. I surveyed the situation - we had two boxes full of bread & bananas, hardly a full course meal but at least some sustanance. As I carried a box out of the kitchen, Tom was sitting down being ministered to by some of our elders. I listened as he explained how he got there. He looked like he had seen better days & it was obvious he had not been able to take care of himself well. His face was full of scars and he was weak but talkative. He wore a walking cast which covered up some badly mangled feet. His eyes revealed his desparation & need for some help.

My first inclination was that we were all going to be there for a while. I just have to be honest. I was tired, it had been a long day. Then the Holy Spirit helped me to step back & really assess the situation. Thats when God blessed my socks off.

This could have been a scene from the days of Jesus. My pharisee attitude quickly took a back seat by the grace of God. As I stood & listened to Tom talk, God showed me that this was a divine appointment.

For the next 45 minutes, the love of Jesus rained down on him. He received a meal put together by the kitchen staff; a nice dress shirt someone was wearing to replace his tattered t-shirt; two pairs of clean socks; a belt, & much personal ministry. He wasn't going to get away without God showing Tom how much He loved him. A warm rag helped wash some of the dirt off his face, back & feet, and by the time he left Jesus had given him his best. As we were praying over him before he left, Tom started to break from the love being poured into his life. The gospel of Jesus was presented to Him, but the words were just a follow up the actions that came before.

Watching God's love flow through the conduit of his people to this broken & disparaged man was like a ray of sunshine on a cold day. I was reminded of the scripture that states that we can love because God first loved us. What an awesome experience it was watching the gospel unfold in deeds & words. My faith has been renewed in a mighty way tonight.