It has only been four hours sense we were been thrown into a crazy adventure of meeting our teammates and having to navigate our way downtown from the airport with only 18 dollars in cash, and, by now, we had already listened to the AIM leaders speak, had “team time” and worshiped with Matt as our leader.
Our team’s responsibility for the night is to walk the streets of downtown Atlanta and bring the fire of God.
After spending some time crammed in the SafeHouse (our home for the first night of homeless ministry) and listening to the Lord, we set out with the words compassion and boldness spoken over us. Smaller groups formed quickly and we spread out across the perimeter we had been advised to stay in. A couple of men were sitting on curbs, and the four of us started conversations, prayed and loved on the people that we saw.
I saw a man that was sitting on a box across the street from us, made eye contact with him, and he summoned me and my teammates over to him. He was sweaty, noticably homeless and discontentment was written all over his face. “Why are you walking around praying? People pray for these men all of the time. They’re still homeless. They’re still hungry. They are not going to change.”
He continued to go into a speech about the faults of our faith. This man was very educated. He had studied religion and languages, and he had been raised Muslim. When he finished talking, we poured out the good news of grace and love! We told him that Jesus loved him, and how he came to rescue him! Then it dawned on me. How cliche. Four upper middle class, white students who were about to fly overseas were came up to a homeless, black man on the streets of a city to tell him all that God had done for him and loved him. How could he see that? His facial expressions of frustration persisted.
“God, how can I show him Your heart, can he see Your love?”
“Get on his level.” God answered. So, I sat down next to the man on the box he sat on. God´s broken heart for this man immidiately overwhelmed me.
I spoke, “You will act according to how you see yourself. So, if you see yourself as lowly and insignificant, you will act lowly and insignificant. God is showing me how he sees you. You are royalty. You are not a slave in God´s household, you are a son, the son of a God who passionately loves you. You are royalty. God wants you to realize who you are. You are powerful. The God of love wants to hold you in His arms. You are not insignificant. You carry the inheritance of the God of the universe.”
When I finished talking, tears filled the man´s eyes, and he quickly excused himself from our presence.
God showed me His heart. We are getting ruined by the love of God.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that we are!” 1 John 3:1
