When You Meet Christ on the Curb

Anyone may have witnessed the scene my son and I saw just an hour ago.  It happens on street corners, in parking lots and on sidewalks worldwide.  It happens so often passersby seem to have grown cold to it, which, I think makes desensitization look mild. 

Onlookers might judge the person's appearance as he stands in the frigid January evening wearing a grey hoodie and no coat or gloves.  He doesn't appear homeless or even all that needy.  What does needy or homeless look like, anyway?  Tattered?  Pale and unshaven?  Do his bones need to show for anyone to have sympathy for him?

My son and I think otherwise.  The young man's cardboard sign, bearing lopsided lettering and held against his chest, reads, "Father of two.  Lost job.  Need work, or anything you can do to help. God bless you." 

The young man stood on the curb opposite our lane of travel.  I felt that push I often feel when faced with someone in difficult circumstances, and I had my son with me to share the experience. I have missed opportunities before because of not wanting to humiliate anyone, or call attention to myself.  I need to get over it, now and completely.

We were on our way to pick up a pizza, my son's treat while his dad travels for business this week.  The pizza seemed utterly unimportant in the reflection of this young man's status.  Ordering a pizza, in light of someone else's need, certainly paints it in the right light.  Frivolous.  Wasteful.  Unnecessary. Self-indulgent. 

Making a turn into a parking area and entering the lane next to the man's chosen place on the curb, I handed my son a five dollar bill, the only note I had with me, and instructed him to open his window and offer it to the man.  My son's window slid down as we approached the spot on the curb where the sneakered feet stood, waiting.

I will never forget the sound of my son's innocent, hopeful voice as he called, "Here you go!" toward the young man.  I could not hear the man's response or see his face, but could sense he struggled to take the bill as he shifted his sign and spoke to my boy. 

I will never forget the sight of my son's face as he turned from the window, his eyes full of tears.  He couldn't tell me what the man had said to him until later, which was, "God be with you, young man.  Thank you."  It meant more than he knew it ever could mean before that moment.  At almost twelve years old, he has seen more and felt more and has begun to piece together the sadder realities of life.   This marked his first experience with this kind of need. 

I didn't try to explain the man's unknown circumstances, nor did I have to review with my son about God's presence everywhere.  Thank God ... my boy knows what he needs to know about his Heavenly Father and has made the choice to have Jesus in his heart. 

My son met Jesus on the curb.

Jesus said,

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.’

~~Matthew 25:34-40

This event will burrow into my son's memory; a child who lacks for nothing every day of the week.  It illustrates for everyone that the blessings of food, clothing and shelter can disappear in the blink of an eye.  Christ comes closer each time we encounter life's disappointments, tragedies, suffering, illness, loss and struggles.  We can see him in faces, in the silent appeal of eye contact all around us as this world continues to drag its inhabitants to the edge of destruction. 

Don't hesitate in helping someone, no matter how little you can give or how small your gesture.  Don't leave Christ standing there on the curb looking forlorn and hopeless, wondering when someone might shed his selfish human nature as readily as He put on human flesh for us.

A wise old pastor of mine once said, "I always have a few bills or change handy, and I give to everyone I see on the street who asks.  I never want to miss anyone in real need ... to miss meeting Christ on the street."

What a great lesson to live.