As some of you know, this past week I spent my spring break on a mission trip in Washington D.C.. I don't tell you this to get an applause, but to share reflections on my week.
Last week was definitely one of the most eye-opening weeks I have had in my life. I met homeless men with faith so great that I feel like I could only dream of it. I saw elderly women living by themselves in dirty homes, with no one to take care of them or spend the rest of their days with. I met people that had lived in DC all of their lives, but had never made it out of their neighborhoods to see the monuments. I met kids that just wanted to be loved on. I met homeless men that just took things as they came- and I saw others who are spending their lives to better other's.
Last week I was reminded that Jesus only asks us to do a few simple things. Take care of the widows and orphans. feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, treat our neighbor as ourselves, and to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds.
How distorted this has become.
Being a Christian in this modern world seems sometimes a self-righteous religion. For many, it is. But what they forget is that God asks us to do everything humbly. These Christians that say "Hey! Look at me and all I have done!" are no better than the priests and other church officials that Jesus himself often condemned. The very men that claimed to be followers of God, were more concerned with the decorative robes on their backs and having the attention- than really helping God's people. This seems all too similar to Christians today.
Christians are called to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth. We are to do everything that Christ himself would do. We are to love, we are to tend to those that need mending, and we are to take care of one another- not just donate 20 cents to the salvation army at Christmas time.
I met a man named Mark last week. He was in his early 30's, handsome and very well dressed. Mark was homeless and going through a rehabilitation program at a men's homeless shelter. The men that we worked with were kind enough to share their stories and testimonies. Just a few years ago, Mark was a lieutenant in the DC Police. He was married to a beautiful woman, and had two children. Three years later, there is another man living in his house with his wife and kids- and he is in the shelter. He made the comment that no one ever came looking for him...and no one knows if he is alive or dead. But Mark said something I will never forget,
"I have more now then I ever did then...I would do anything to have my wife and kids back, but I have a God that has always and will always provide for me. I'm here to look after my brothers."
Not only Mark, but the other men going through the program with him all had faith so great...they were confident that God has and will always provide for them. They were more concerned about one another's well being as well as our well being than anything else. I honestly was humbled. Men who had everything taken away from them had more faith and hope in God than I do...and I've been blessed with food to eat and a roof over my head every night as well as so much more.
I was reminded that all I really have in this life, is me. Not saying that I can only rely on myself. But the only thing I truly poses in life...is my body- my...being. All I can honestly give to God is me. All I can give to my friends and family, is my love and support and friendship. I have nothing else that I can truly give.
Sometimes I wonder what this world would look like if we all just forgot about earthly success and just started caring for one another. I wonder if Christians actually started acting like Christ did, what a change would occur.
Last week I saw more of Jesus through the people we served, and the people that helped serve them every week than I have in many Christians or Christian organizations.
They don't just say, they do. Not only that, but they humbly admit that they have struggles and aren't perfect. They admitted that they could be hypocrites at times, but they were human. They reminded me that sitting in a Church pew every Sunday and singing doesn't make you a Christian just like standing in a garage making car noises doesn't make you a car.
If you talk the talk, walk the walk. Do what Jesus asks, and follow his actions. Love others, serve them and be humble. Do nothing for the glory of you, do it all for the glory of God.
Be a Christ follower.
The hardest part of this week wasn't seeing everything I saw, but seeing it and realizing that at the end of the week I was leaving to go back to my cushy life. I have never been so humbled, and so confused. God used these men and women to show me what I had been missing; a servant's heart.
I will walk in the ways of Christ, and serve as he served. I will be the hands and feet, because that is what I am asked to be. I can't lie and say I will never struggle with this, because I admit that I have struggles daily. But its the struggles that make you stronger.
-jennie
