The Unwanted

35‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25: 35 - 40 NKJV

I've seen the problem first hand.  The disheveled man shuffling through the store.  The man in worn clothing holding the sign by the side of the freeway.  Here in Portland, the plight of the cities homeless population has been grabbing headlines locally for over a few years now.  Scorned first for being a unsightly presence in the city downtown district, they've become a symbol with all which is wrong with society.  However, in the course of my job I have continually come face to face with the by products of the homeless situation.  See, for the most part I have viewed the homeless issue not as one of another person suffering, but as another pile of trash or drug needles left behind by the masses.  Of course, I couldn't be blamed for having this opinion, as we are continually confronted with having to clean up whatever remains from the latest homeless camp.  You may have guessed that I don't relish cleaning up needles, garbage and human waste of different types, but this is the job we do on occasion.  In the process, I've formed a pretty callous opinion of those who live on the streets of my city.  That being said, just as it is not my job to find a solution for this issue, it is not your job to label me as uncaring or unsympathetic.  For I have seen a sid eof the homeless issue that many in society seldom see.  I've seen countless homeless people insult and degrade me as I attempted to assist them.  I've seen two men having to restrain a homeless man whose only concern seemed to be where to get his next drug fix.  Yes, I have seen my share of this obnoxious issue.  It's not as if I am uncaring, it's just that my upbringing and feelings on self survival have given me a different view on what Iwould do should I be in their place.

41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25: 41 - 46 NKJV

I cannot say for certain what I would do if I were to become homeless as I've never been in that situation.  However, this does not mean that my opinion is not valid.  Being homeless does not give you more rights than someone else who is struggling.  Being homeless does not give you the right to harass someone who is simply walking by.  So, I will answer that question which I am sure someone would ask of me if they could.  What would Jesus do if He were homeless?  Well, the simple truth of the matter is that Jesus WAS homeless as He walked about on His ministry here on earth.  It was indeed Jesus who relied on the provision of the Father, which usually came in the kindness of others towards He and His disciples.  It was Jesus who made the claim, "If you have done to the least of these you have done to me."  See, the fact which I must face is that I do not have a lock on Gods salvation.  His desire is that all would be saved {John 3: 16-17 NKJV}.  Not only that, but the very same Spirit of Christ Jesus which lives through me today, is also available to that homeless person on the street should the desire to seek Him be layed upon his heart.  Of course, just because one is saved, does not guarantee that his life will be a cake walk either.  So, as I walk the streets of this city, can I tell just who has received the Spirit of Christ and who hasn't?  I'm afraid it's not that simple.  For in the past there have been more than a few people who have been surprised that I was a christian.  The worst thing that we can do is promote the homeless issue as simply a political stand, for in this we will surely not give to those least among us.  For His part, Jesus never met a man whom He refused the gift of the Spirit.  Many of those least among us have come to know the freedom found in Christ Jesus.

~Scott~