FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR WILL: Solidarity with the Poor

[Rev. William Griffith]

When God calls you to a particular place he makes certain He has prepared you for it. He prepares you spiritually, emotionally and physically, regardless of our handicaps or weaknesses in all of those areas. At the time we find the preparation time grueling and more often than not ask of God..."Why are you letting this happen to me?" His response, quite simply, must be "because I need to use you. You have been called to serve. I must break up the soil and dirt of your life so the seed I've planted in you can grow".

As my wife Alysyn and I entered full time street and homeless ministry, we never had a clue that is where we would be serving God. We have a tendency, as the very human creatures we are, to say "Please use me Lord. Use me according to your will", and then when He shows us His will we draw back a moment, or even for a time, and respond by saying something like "Yes, I see Lord. I see where you want us to go. But really, I think I would better serve you way over there, far away from all of this here. Look how talented I am in this area. Lord, it would be foolish not to use my talents for your glory. Use me over here Lord and let's do it this way".

God, in His infinite mercy and grace must often smile when we say "use me Lord according to your will", and then when He reveals His will to us, we have a better idea. Our will always has the best in mind for us. God just doesn't understand that He's making a mistake if He doesn't use my talents in another area". And still, when God calls, there is no escaping His plan for our lives.

Aly and I have been blessed with a heart and passion for the undesirables on the streets. The homeless, the prostitute, the addicts, the alcoholics, and the young people lost and alone in conditions we would not want to see a dog weather. But God has used the brokenness, the weakness, and the utter disasters of our past to call us to reach for those who need to experience, perhaps for the first time, the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. The full and glorious love of Almighty God.

Since answering God's call on our lives, we have found ourselves face to face with Christ. Every time we look into the eyes of the homeless, and those surviving on the streets, we see into the eyes of Christ. We see the tears held back, as well as the fear, hunger and utter brokenness of being discarded like a piece of trash. We have come to know these people as the children of God. They are precious. Their plight is one that could cause activists to rise in number if they were an abandoned cat or dog. These, however, are viewed as something taxing to the "good reputation" of the land of plenty. If we ignore them they will eventually go away, is our hope as a society.

The fact is, Jesus told us the poor would always be with us. And there is a reason why God allows the poor. They too have a purpose in His plan. They compel us to examine our hearts. They compel us to accept or reject the words of Christ when it comes to "the least of these". We are also told that these will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whether we are affluent or not, our hearts should be heavy for these people. It is not about creating a utopian society without poverty. It is about addressing the needs of the people in poverty. It is not about converting them to Christianity. It is about serving them with pure love and compassion and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the rest. We do not have the power to change hearts. We have the ability to be obedient to God's call and to serve with humility and love. Through our obedience, God will change the hearts. God will do the real work.

There is no greater honor in the world for Aly and I than in serving these people. They bless us. They minister to us in ways we simply can not explain. They keep us humble before God and they remind us that for all the things we tend to think are best for us, God has other plans. The best plans. The only plan that matters.

As we eat with these people, listen to them, pray with them and share their experiences with them, there is nothing more sobering than sleeping among them. To serve the poor was not enough for us. We had to stand and sit in solidarity with them. Alysyn and I are perfect for one another (as God knew from the start) because we both have to feel the experience to grasp the brevity of the mission. It is a sobering moment when a person finally realizes, this is why God has allowed me to experience so many challenges and failures. This is why I have suffered so much tragedy and loss. This moment is why I had to be broken down as the person I thought I was, and rebuilt according to God's perfect will. And as we fall asleep among the poor and homeless, we fall asleep knowing full well that this is where we belong. We belong among them. We are them. We should ALL be them. And if we have not come into God's love and accepted the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we too are homeless.

In closing, there was a reason why the short 3 1/2 year ministry of Christ was served in humility. There is a reason why God became flesh in the form of a homeless rabbi, rejected by society and even his family. These men, women and children on the streets are the reason why. Jesus stood in solidarity with the poor from the very beginning. He stands with them today. And as His disciples, we can not do otherwise than view these as our brothers and sisters. We too must stand and sit among them as Christ did. We must be the tools for God to meet their needs, as Christ did. For when we do it for these, we have done it for our Lord.

-Pastor William Griffith

Evangel Pacific Ministries