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| God's ground zero! |
I pulled into the parking lot of a
strip mall where the sandwich shop was still open late in the evening. As I
approached the Subway Store, I saw the shadow of a man sitting on a plain, flat
concrete bench about ten feet in front of the entrance door. All the other
stores were closed except the sandwich store and another store a couple of
doors down on the right. The man on the bench came clearer into focus as I walked
closer.
His sat with drooping shoulders,
wearing clothes that seemed to be as old as he was – maybe just over sixty or
so. His stained polo shirt seemed to have been handed down many a time before
it got to him. His jeans were probably older than his polo shirt. However, his
face was more weathered than either the polo shirt or the jeans!
As I walked closer, I saw a tanned,
dirt-caked face riddled with the wrinkles of a long, harsh homeless life. His
uneven, matted grayish hair was topped by a torn and faded ball cap. The shadow
of his beady eyes sunken into their sockets betrayed his malnutrition. He did
not seem to have the strength to look up at me or speak to me as I walked by
and stepped into the sandwich shop. He had no backpack or bag at all. He
clearly was one of the invisibles!
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| It all seems normal enough! |
I ordered my Subway sandwich and
drink and looked out the picture window where I could still see the back and
drooping shoulders of the old homeless man on the bench. The more I thought
about him, the more compassion welled up within me. I turned to the young
sandwich maker and asked him to make me another sandwich just like the one I
had ordered for myself. I was going home to eat, and on the way to my vehicle I
would let the old homeless man have a sandwich. As my sandwiches were being
made, I pondered this man’s situation and silently prayed for him. When my
order was completed, I walked outside.
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| He sat right there on the corner of the bench! |
As I stood in front of him to ask
him if he was hungry, he lifted his unshaven face to look at me and the dark
shadow hiding his eyes disappeared. He grinned, and I saw his watery eyes open
wider. I handed him the sub sandwich, and his grin turned to a smile. I told
him to go ahead and open it up to make sure it’s what he could eat. He glanced
at it and quietly and slowly unwrapped it. Before eating it, he looked up at me
and raised his bruised and scratched hand to shake mine.
As I stood there watching him, I
could smell the body odor of a man who hadn’t bathed in probably a month. Every
crease in his unwashed hand had brown dirt in them and his long, curved,
smoke-stained fingernails all hid some kind of black stain. The back of his
hand had a couple of small, healing open sores.
I was repulsed for a moment! I was
thinking of words like “health risk,” “sanitation,” “diseases.” However, I also
thought that this man may not have touched or been touched by anyone in months.
How good it would be for him to shake someone’s hand – to feel the warm touch
of another human being.
Again, compassion and love flooded
my soul for the least, the lost and the last. How can I tell him about the love
of Jesus if I am not able to show him love? I grasped his hand firmly in mine.
It’s all right; I can always wash later on! We didn’t shake; we just held
clasped hands for a moment, as his whole face lit up in a life giving smile.
Then, he let go of my hand, grabbed the sandwich with both hands and took a big
bite. Now, I was smiling. Through all this, he never spoke a word or uttered a
sound.
I walked away to go to my vehicle
with my sandwich and drink in hand. I then realized that I didn’t need this
drink - I can drink at home. How could I leave him without a drink? I had taken
only five steps when I turned around to go back and give him my drink. I looked
at the bench and just froze there with a bagged sandwich in one hand and a
drink in the other.
He was gone!
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| The bench is in the foreground...five steps is up to the middle of the parking space marked by the white line... |
He was just taking a bite of a
sandwich before I took five hurried steps and turned around. I looked to the
right and to the left. Nothing. How could this man move so fast? I went back in
the sandwich store and asked if they had seen an old homeless man come in.
Nothing. I checked their bathroom to see if he had gone in without being seen.
Nothing. I went to the store two doors down and did the same thing. Nothing.
There was no way this man, in his shape, could wrap the sandwich back up, pick
it up and sprint to the end of the mall – or wherever – and disappear in that
short period of time.
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| I looked to the left... |
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| ...and to the right, but he was nowhere to be seen! |
I went back later, during daylight,
and sat on the same bench, pondering. I had brought a tape measure with me to
see how far he had to go to disappear while I took five steps. I measured and
timed it all. He would have had to do the 100 yard dash in less than ten
seconds...holding a sandwich in his hands...with a mouth full...not to mention
his awful physical shape! The fastest record holding sprinter on Earth can do
it in maybe 9.90 seconds.
There can be only one solution to
this enigma (puzzle):
“Do
not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained
angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
I took five steps and he
disappeared. That is not natural - it is supernatural.
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| Yes, I did look around, behind, in front and IN the bushes! He was just "gone!" |
He never said a word, and though he
took a bite of the sandwich, I did not see him swallow it (if that means
anything.) For a while I felt fortunate that I had not neglected an angel of
the Lord. After all, I did give him food and I was going to give him a drink.
In my heart, I did feel compassion and love for him. I prayed for him. I felt
pretty good about myself. However, not until much later did I realize that I
really had not done enough.
Had I truly cared, I would have
asked him about his health. I could have gone to the store to buy him some
disinfectant wipes to clean himself, and bandages to cover the wounds on his
hand. I could have asked him if he needed anything else or if there was
anything else I could do for him. Could I have given him a ride somewhere? I
had nail clippers in my pocket which I could have given him. I could have given
him some food for the next day. Did he need warm clothing, socks, shoes, a
sleeping bag, a backpack? I could have left a little money with him, if nothing
else.
I didn’t ask him if he was saved or
even mentioned the name of Jesus.
In all reality, I hadn’t done much
at all. Did I go to the cross for him? Did I feel his desolation? After
mentioning entertaining angels in Hebrews
13:2, verse 3 continues;
“Remember
those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are
mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
Why does God send angels to test us,
anyhow? God, who knows everything, knows our heart towards these things. The
Lord could just come into our heart and look and see what’s going on there.
Then, He could just have His Holy Spirit teach us what we should do. But...
“Are
not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14)
So, Jesus sits on His throne, calls
an angel, and commands that angel to leave heaven and go to earth and minister
to you. Why? Because God so loves the homeless, the poor, the destitute, and
the least, that he would send not only His Son to die on the cross, and the
Holy Spirit to dwell in you, but also angels to minister to you.
All of heaven is on your side so
that you can minister to the “least of these” the way God wants you to...with
the love of God, not wanting that any should perish but have everlasting life.
If so many people in the street do not know what love is, how will they
understand that there is a God in heaven who loves them and wants them to spend
eternity with Him? You are the one who will show them love so they may see,
experience, and receive love, and maybe then understand why Jesus died for them
on that horrible cross.
That’s why you, yourself, carry your
daily cross; so they may see an example of the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the
cross for them. Then they may believe the gospel message which you give them;
that they may trust in the name of Jesus Christ and be saved, and have
everlasting life.
“We
are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal
through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
Well, good night y’all and God bless you.
Well, good night y’all and God bless you.
(Taken from my book, The Spark in the Street, [Amazon.com])
