Galatians 2:910: “James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”
What does it mean to serve “the least of these?” Who are the poor? Not just the financially poor, but the socially outcast, the hurting and the disenfranchised… anyone out of the mainstream through disease, lack of education, etc. The poor are those most responsive to the gospel. It has always been that way historically.
Who did Jesus touch? Who did he allow to touch him? Lepers, a diseased woman, a prostitute, tax collectors, uneducated fishermen, people who are excluded from the temple and may not come inside the walls. These are the people Jesus went to and these were the people most receptive to him.
Who are today’s lepers? AIDs victims, illegal immigrants, gays, homeless people, addicts, prostitutes, pimps, sex offenders who must live outside the city limits, prisoners… these are the poor in spirit, the ostracized. What does it mean for us to be called to serve them?
Bob,
Our community of faith was blessed to see God’s redemptive hand at work this past week. Some of us have been serving a man who is a contemporary “leper” and an outcast from society. He is a man who spent a long time in prison for things he had done. We have walked with him for over two years providing him with support and accountability.
This week he gave a tour of the downtown east side of Vancouver to a group of Bible college students who were visiting our church. He showed them many of the services he had used, the Christian ministries that have been a help to him, and the shelter he had used when he had no other place to stay for a brief period of time.
Although this man is not yet a follower of Jesus, it is apparent that God is slowly breaking through to him. He knows much about Jesus from his interactions with our church and other ministries. He was able to give back some of what he has learned and served these young people by showing them around and giving them insight into the needs of the community.
Keith
What an encouraging report, Keith. I pray that stories like these will become increasingly commonplace as the church lives out its God-given calling.