Today I was driving through the parking lot at our church. As I turned the corner I saw a homeless woman lying on the ground using her luggage as a pillow. Here's the sad thing: I kept driving. As I made it to the office to get on with my day, the parable of the Good Samaritan came to my mind and conviction smacked me upside my head. So I got back in my car and went back to check on her. As I walked up I checked to make sure she was okay. She told me that she was just resting her legs. So I got back in my car to go and get ready for my day. But Jesus had other plans. I couldn't get her out of my mind. So I went back and asked if I could buy her lunch. She gave me her detailed order from Subway and I was off to go and get it. I came back and gave it to her. I then turned the car off and chatted with her while she ate her lunch. I found out her name was Lisa and that she was originally from Dallas, Texas. She was in California looking for her grown children but didn't know where they were or if they were even alive. I talked to her about God and answered some questions that she had. I invited her to Wednesday Night @ PFB. After listening to her, I went my way and she stayed and finished her lunch.
As I drove off, this thought came to my mind: "Whatever you do for one of the least of these my brothers, you do to me." But instead of a heart of satisfaction I began to wonder what I had really done. Did I treat Lisa exactly the way that I would have treated Jesus if he were there instead of her? Some would say that that is not a fair example because the woman was homeless. So was Jesus. He's the one who said that he had nowhere to lay his head. So did I treat her the exact same way that I would have treated Jesus if I ran into him in this same scenario today? And I know that that there are some who say, "I never give money to the homeless because they're just going to go and buy alcohol." That's crazy, because that's exactly what they accused Jesus of being - a drunkard and a glutton.
Lisa changed my plans today. She changed my mindset because I started thinking about things that I normally wouldn't be thinking about today. She confronted me with what I really think about Jesus. She confronted me with what others think about Jesus. She never accused Christians of anything. She never slammed anyone. She just sat there, ate lunch and asked questions. My response: I sat there, watched her eat, and asked myself questions as I listened to her. Lisa, thanks for changing my plans today. It was definitely a needed break from the monotonous.
How's your day been? How have you loved Jesus today?
Amazing and encouraging story!
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