a home for the homeless

"A refuge for the poor, a shelter from the storm

This is our God

He will wipe away your tears and return your wasted years

This is our God

Oh....this is our God

A father to the orphan, a healer to the broken

This is our God

And he brings peace to our madness and comfort in our sadness

This is our God

This is the one we have waited for,

this is the one we have waited for

This is our God

He brings glory to the humble and crowns for the faithful

This is our God"

I have been thinking about this song by Chris Tomlin all week! When we read scripture we see Christ meeting people where they are, meeting their needs and touching their heart.  Living in DC it is common to see homeless people when I walk to and from work.  It would be easy to try to avoid them and I sometimes have the impulse to walk very quickly the other way, but God is showing me that although I might not have much to give I can offer love to them.  Before moving here I had a very sheltered view of the homeless, but many homeless people frequent Ebenezers and I learned quickly that although they might not have a home like the rest of us, we can offer them a home every time we interact with them.  Just as the church is not the building and we are called to be the church...I believe that Christ came to be a home for the homeless and as followers of him we are called to be his hands and feet.  Yesterday a woman came into Ebenezers who seemed a little bit out of it and she was stumbling around.  I immediately felt uncomfortable, but God used it as an opportunity to once again break down stereotypes.  She ended up purchasing an orange juice and while I was ringing her out she started smiling and singing the song that was playing and mumbling something about the first time she heard the song.  At that moment I'm sure she had a sense of being "home" and I had a sense of how Christ must have felt when interacting with various people of all walks of life.  It was second nature for him and I believe it needs to become part of our DNA as well!

I'm on my way, but I have a long way to go! Praise God for his faithfulness in opening my eyes and changing my heart!