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?

The Wrong Question

If God is all powerful, then why doesn't He feed the poor? Why doesn't He stop all the wars? We're asking the wrong question.

Of course, God could stop all of the wars and end hunger. He's God! The REAL question is "why don't WE?"

The first verse that comes to my mind about this topic was when Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." - Matthew 26:11. Why? Why will we ALWAYS have the poor with us? It's because WE are the ones who are supposed to care for them. WE are the ones who are failing to feed the hungry.

Of course, Jesus is really talking about the 'spiritually' poor. And Jesus was right. They have always been with us.

The statement "the poor you will always have with you" is an all-knowing God knowing that we will never accomplish what He wants us to do, because of our sinful nature. Our desire for our own material possessions and 'looking out for number one' outweighs our desire to help and to love others.

A better question should be "Lord, what can I do to help the poor?" To feed the hungry. To cloth the naked.

Lord, show me what you would have me do. Lord, teach me, that I might use my knowledge to feed those who are hungry, house those who have no home, to clothe those who are naked.

We keep asking all of the wrong questions. We have the capability and financial resources to do everything God wants us to do, but we don't. It's not God we should be questioning. It is ourselves and our own free will decisions.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ - Matthew 25:34-40