In May of 2009, I was in Johannesburg, South Africa and had the amazing opportunity to spend 4 weeks befriending some boys that have a few things in common with the children Not Forgotten aims to serve. The next few posts will reflect some of the ways the Lord has changed and challenged us through this ministry, and I thought this reflection summarized some of the ways it has impacted me. Not one of us is forgotten.
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"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love me like You have loved me.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love me like You have loved me.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Lord, everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause.
As I walk from earth into eternity..."They line up against a wall smelling of earth and sweat. Their faces are streaked with dirt and scars, and glue dries in streams beneath their noses. They're hungry, broke, and filthy. They've probably stolen something from you, mumbled some crass remark when you avoided them, or sang you a jingle asking for cash. They'll tell you their story, but it's rarely the truth, and many of them have mastered manipulation even though they never passed the 7th grade.
They're the unlovable of Johannesburg, South Africa. They make you hold your purse a little tighter when you walk through town, and they're a large part of the reason you avoid the city streets at night.
They're street boys.
For the last 2 weeks, my teammates and I have been working alongside Melville Junction Church developing possible programs that serve the homeless men, women and children of Jo'burg. In researching needs and ideas, I met Ricardo and friends begging on the street corner between McDonald's and KFC. They're street boys who beg from sun up to sun down, and take a break in the afternoon eat some soup with my team. We caught looks from everyone coming in and out of the restaurant. They would just gawk at the 4 Americas chatting with the street boys through the McDonald's window. Some of them would even speak. They would ask if we were naive, scared or just crazy.
Crazy? I'd think. For talking to a street boy? ... At first, I was angry and hurt by their comments. But, as I started to think back to who I was before Christ, I began to understand the looks a little better. I knew I would have been the one munching on French fries and passing judgment 5 years ago...I still have moments where I sit back and judge without even attempting to understand. This time I just happened to be on the other side.
I remember hearing stories about the company that Christ kept when I first became a Christian. "Lunatic," I thought. Who pursues the prostitutes, beggars, and thieves? Aren't you taught to avoid people like that as a child? Great example, Jesus. Why don't I run down to the red light district and have a quality chat with the lady on the corner of 3rd and Peachtree? I'm sure she won't mind me stepping between her and this month's rent. And that thief over there? I'm sure that he won't steal from me because I have a cross, a smile, and good intentions. Wrong. Thanks for the example, Jesus. I'll stick to Birmingham suburbia. Much neater. Much safer. Much more expected.
But then I find 40 boys in the Amazon jungle, Hueso in the Dominican, Wesh in Haiti, Teekah in Botswana, and now, Ricardo in South
Africa. They're all the types of people that Christ would have loved, while onlookers shook their heads in confusion. And before I can stop myself, I am loving them too. Relationships like these teach you to love with Christ's eyes, as titles fall to the ground and nothing but laughter and love rise to the surface. It's when they become more to you than the orphan, the prostitute, and "some street kids." Instead, you're changed; when through Christ's power they become your friend, your teacher, and your family. Christ molds you through these relationships. He challenges you to serve, pray, and love way past what is comfortable. You love with no guarantee that the love will be reciprocated, and it doesn't deter you from loving harder. You're reminded that the Creator of the Universe adores YOU, and that's all the Love you need for fulfillment.
Africa. They're all the types of people that Christ would have loved, while onlookers shook their heads in confusion. And before I can stop myself, I am loving them too. Relationships like these teach you to love with Christ's eyes, as titles fall to the ground and nothing but laughter and love rise to the surface. It's when they become more to you than the orphan, the prostitute, and "some street kids." Instead, you're changed; when through Christ's power they become your friend, your teacher, and your family. Christ molds you through these relationships. He challenges you to serve, pray, and love way past what is comfortable. You love with no guarantee that the love will be reciprocated, and it doesn't deter you from loving harder. You're reminded that the Creator of the Universe adores YOU, and that's all the Love you need for fulfillment.As I fast forward from my original opinion of Jesus' company, I can't help but laugh at how He has reinvented my opinions and heart. He is teaching me to love through His eyes so much more this year, and it's transforming my attitude towards just about everything. While I once believed Christ a lunatic for seeking out the "unlovable," I now feel a divine calling to love them out of darkness. Befriending them no longer seems strange. We are loved so perfectly and abundantly by God, how could we not strive to pour that out on everyone we see?
I pray that the Lord continues to open my eyes and "break our hearts" for what breaks His. It's scary at first. Uncomfortable even, but the conviction and obedience to love never return void.
