The Gutter

Here's a fun little challenge for you today. Take a close look at this picture and tell me what you see.

Garbage dumpsters, parking meters, a moving vehicle, pigeons on the sidewalk, palm trees, a couple walking, a pawn shop.... anything else?

Well, there's a "16th Street" sign, a McDonald's across the street, and... a church sign. Do you see it? Upper left. "San Juan 14;6 Pentecostal." San Juan is St. John. And here's the verse:

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6

Good verse. And this is a good place for a church. 

Regardless, welcome to "the gutter." This is where many of us live these days. How do you like what we've done with the place? The picture was taken in San Francisco.

Now, tell me the things you DON'T see. Besides Nancy Pelosi, that is.

I don't see any cars parked in front of the parking meters. I don't see anyone cleaning up the trash. And other than the couple walking through the mess, I don't see any other humans at all. Besides the walking couple, and the person taking the picture, there is no one.

Welcome to the future. And the future is now.

If you saw someone lying in the gutter on a street like this where you live, would you stop to help them? Or would you walk right by? Be honest.

Our apathy as a society is why we still have homeless people sleeping in the gutters of every major city in America. We don't stop to help.

We send news crews to take pictures and we say 'somebody should do something' but no one ever does. We are the reason Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." (Matthew 26:11)

The one thing missing from the picture above that really stands out is the church....the body of Christ. Yes, there is a sign, and a building, but there is no one out on the street....in the actual gutter....doing anything.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have." - Luke 10:30-35

Jesus is returning soon. Where do you think we'd find HIM? With the sick, the poor, the homeless, the hurting.

Where then should WE be?