YOU CAN EAT WITH ME!
“Come in and eat with me,” I said to the homeless man standing outside a major fast food restaurant. “I can’t go in there with you,” he replied. “Why not, I asked? “They know me in there and will not allow me to come inside anymore.” (I’m guessing that there had been a problem in the past.) “Well you can come in with me,” I insisted. “No, you don’t understand, they won’t allow me inside!” he continued to say.
“Look,” I said. “It’s my money, it’s my food, and you can sit and eat with me and there is nothing they can say about it, so meet me inside at my table.” “Well, ok,” he answered. I asked him what he wanted to eat and went inside and ordered breakfast for us.
Over breakfast, I learned the following:
• His was struggling to abandon his lifestyle of alcoholism which began after extreme abandonment issues and the suicide of a young friend.
• He was sleeping on the ground in the woods, but was tired and fearful. People were moving through the woods all night and he was afraid he would be hurt and robbed, as others had.
• He was a believer and was ready to get out of the woods, off the street and into deliverance and treatment.
The presence of Jesus came into McDonalds and touched us, and others sitting in our area as we prayed together. A life was touched, ministry went public, and Jesus was glorified.
I knew when I saw him that I was sent to deliver a package of God’s love, compassion, and hope to him. This was far removed from the plush office of the owner and president of a large corporation I was praying with a few days earlier. But God loves the homeless just as much as he loves the rich. And many of their inner needs are the same.
I know all the stories about the homeless. I’ve worked with them for decades. I know about the games many of them play. But many of them are trapped by life issues and Jesus wants to heal them set them free.
It is hard for us to measure the eternal impact of one act of kindness or a word of encouragement to another person. We must take off our glasses which filter out who we see and who we don’t. Jesus sees everyone and wants us to be ready and willing to minister to whosoever He sends us to. The key is being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and always obeying Him!
God bless you as you go forward sharing love, hope, direction, and comfort to the people God puts in your path today.