Our Collaboration with God

I’ve already come to love many things about Austin, but there is one thing that breaks my heart. It is the number of homeless I see under bridges. All over there are tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, along with grocery carts in abundance. It is like a neon sign that awakens my senses and my spiritual heart to pray for them as I drive by the encampments of lost, desperate, intoxicated, hooked-on-drugs, formerly imprisoned, under-loved, broken people. Homeless is an understated word. It is a constant reminder of why Jesus came to this world.

I read about this situation. It seems that more dollars were being spent by the city patrolling, arresting, incarcerating, and housing them than to just let them be. So that is what has happened. There is an ordinance that provides the homeless to live in public places (not on private property or parks). It has been an ongoing dilemma here for years and many are very unhappy about it.

When my daughter, her family and I served for an organization in Dallas at their annual Christmas blessing for the homeless, we learned from many we served that this is their lifestyle-of-choice. “I chose it because I want it. I don’t want responsibility. These people are my family.”

I keep wondering if God called me here to be an advocate in prayer and beyond for the homeless. After all, I would be more like Jesus if I did. He identified Himself with the homeless because He WAS homeless for much of His life. That sure challenges me to see the face of Jesus in all the homeless people under those bridges.
Jesus was born in a stable and his crib was an eating trough for animals. His life began as a homeless baby. And, He had hardly come into the world when Mary and Joseph took Him across the border to escape the murderous intentions of King Herod. Jesus became a baby on the run, a homeless peace-seeker in Egypt.

Later He grew up in His Nazareth home, but, once His public ministry began, He was homeless again. He said: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Jesus had no home He could call His own. And, at the end, Jesus was stripped of His clothes to die in agony, with no home, no possessions, no bank account and hardly a friend within sight. Jesus is the brother and friend of all of us, including homeless people, refugees, and sanctuary seekers.

In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about loving and caring for these people: the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and prisoners. He was speaking of those who are homeless. Such people bring us the very face of Jesus. He was willing to go to the cross for them and His work on the cross was for all of us.

I sense God is challenging me to not look the other way as though the homeless aren’t there. I sense Him wanting me to realize those are the faces of Jesus and it sure makes me want to cooperate with my Lord however I can. I don’t want the “look-away” or “ignore them and they’ll go away” mindset. I don’t know yet exactly how I can cooperate with my Lord, but I do know my hand is raised to accept the mission – even if, for the time being – it is to offer up prayers for their safety and for them to realize the love of Jesus for them. After all, He was one of them. He knows. He cares. And if I really, really desire to be like Jesus — then I should, too!