For we have not a high priest able to sympathize with our infirmities, but one who has been tried in all respects like us, apart from sin. We may be coming, then, with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may be obtaining mercy and finding grace for opportune help.
Hebrews 4: 15-16, Concordant New Testament
Ask anyone about the cure for the scourge of drug addiction and you're likely to get more than a few different answers. Some want stiffer penalties for the offenders. Some desire stiffer penalties, but only for those who supply the poison to the public. Still others feel that jail time without treatments for the addiction are a bit too draconian. From what I have seen, most agree that something definitely needs to be done. I wrote previously on a situation which brought home the issue of drug addiction among the homeless youth in our area. I witnessed first-hand the cost one pays for that addiction. In the span of one minute, I watched a young man go from the certain death of a drug overdose to yet another chance at life. Of course, this was but one small example of what happens on the streets of Portland, Oregon on any given day. Hundreds of homeless people striving to make a go of things the best way they are able. From the "Legal" tiny house villages popping up across the city, to the unsanctioned tent encampments that plague the city, the issue of the homeless has emerged as one of the top issues in this state. I have had a unique perspective on this issue as my employment requires that I cross that line into the reality of the homeless each and every day. We have the opportunity to see what most Portlanders are immune from. From used needles scattered around our public areas to feces biohazards, we've basically seen it all. We're the ones who are charged with dealing with cleaning what the homeless problem leaves behind. Now, there are those who are ok with this. These people will say that this is a necessary service required for the city. However, these same people will react in shock when they see what it costs our crews to deal with the aftermath of the homeless issue. Which leads me to the question, what is the acceptable cost to deal with the homeless and drug addiction problems we face? Can we even place a price tag on saving people from the slavery of addiction?
Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin may be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for sin, for one who dies has been justified from sin. Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceived that Christ, being roused from among the dead, is no longer dying. Death is lording it over Him no longer, for in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God. Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament
For the Christian, it has become all too easy to profess that homelessness is an issue of the mind. Once one recognizes who they are in Christ, their situation will automatically improve. Sorry, but it's just not that simple of a solution. We cannot preach to someone who has no idea where they will sleep or what they will eat that their sins are forgiven. This is the traditional church model of gaining new members, and it doesn't work anymore. We're not looking for new members. What we're looking for is how that homeless young person is going to experience the love and forgiveness of Christ. We can talk about Jesus all day long, but it falls on deaf ears if those who we're speaking to never come to know Jesus as we do. To come to know Jesus as One who they can place their faith and trust in. If we don't walk that walk, how is it that those around us will see Jesus through all we do? In dealing with the scourge of addiction, we do ourselves no favors by placing dollar signs in front of the solution. When Jesus is at the forefront of this issue, He will work through all of us to win the hearts of those who are hurting the most.
~Scott~
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