Does Jesus Love the Homeless?

[gypc]

Matt 25:31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I fall so short after reading this..........Lord forgive me! Thanks for starting this thread. ....I really needed it

[Guest man]

Matt 25:31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I fall so short after reading this..........Lord forgive me! Thanks for starting this thread. ....I really needed it

You beat me to the punch....but that's ok.....less typing for me.

[Guest man]

How would you suggest that Christians show the love of Jesus towards the homeless? Would it simply be to keep enabling them, or do you have some suggestions of how we could give them practical help in ceasing to be homeless?

We feed them....we clothe them....give them shelter from the elements.

We need to be there for them, whether they wish to remain homeless or not.

The way we treat these people should be no different then the way we treat our friend's or family in a time of need.

[AnotherTraveler]

I worked for 4 years of my life in homeless ministry. Housing, feeding, medical needs, clothing, and many other things are physically needed continually. This is why the Gospel is so important. The gospel offers hope to the hopeless, and the hearing of the word brings faith on the scene. Maybe the greatest need for most homeless is a new idea, a new thought pattern.

Many homeless (I have spoken to thousands individually) are very sceptical of Christians because they feel they they are despised and looked upon as inferior by most Christians in general and the wealthy ones in particular. It has been hard not to agree with their assessment generally.

I just received a beautiful Christmas Card with photos of a dear Christian man and his wife. I first met this man several years ago as he and another man jumped from a train they had been riding in for hundreds of miles as modern day hobo's and hippies. Both refused to enter the homeless shelter (where I was on staff) so I let them stay in my RV. I nearly got fired for doing so, but I believed that the Lord had shown me that both of these guys would become Christians, and they just needed a little extra effort to do so. I would eventually move them both into my home, where they lived with my wife, myself, and our nine children. They eventually both became fine Christian men, and they have been short term missionaries to Kazistan and Israel, and both are very precious and deeply in love with Jesus Christ and his people. One now lives in Tennesee with his family, and another lives in Vermont with his family.

There are thousands of reasons why people become homeless, some have a mind set that material things don't matter, but in freezing weather both warm clothing and a warm room, though material, matter greatly. We had many that suffered from hypothermia (cold and alcohol are bad combinations) including one guy that froze off all his fingers and toes, and half of his hands and feet. The stench was unbelievable, and the members of his body were black and almost shiny except where the cracks occurred and drained. His surgeries were numerous because they tried to save as much of his body as possible, so it was like they had to cut off 8 inches of flesh and bone, but 2 inches at a time, you just could not have pity on him, though it was all completely his own fault, still it was tragic.

People that get saved start becoming more and more responsible, keeping themselves clean, seeking work, paying bills, saving a little money, and eventually being able to enter careers or ministry or whatever their course is to be. Having a home is usually just responsibility mets opportunity, and not having a home is often just the absence on one or both of these elements.

Anyway, Jesus loves them all, and desires good for all that will allow good to come to them.

[AnotherTraveler]

One other thing. Having worked in the Homeless Shelter ministeries, I am convinced that the modern homeless shelter is NOT what Jesus intended (Matt 25:31-46) but is a result of Christians (like you and me) finding an alternitive solution to the problems of the needy so that we don't have to get our hands dirty, don't have to have strangers come to our homes, don't have to get to know them personally, and therefore we don't have to love them as Jesus loves them. (To say nothing of the risk or danger that they might represent)

I am not trying to condemn anyone, but our modern organizations and efforts to be efficient can easily become heartless and inhumane, yet often that same systamatic approach is the amount of "warmth" many are getting from Chrsitian ministry efforts.

The bartender doesn't condemn the drunk, he just requires money to keep drinking, and he will often appear to listen to your story. Many Christian's won't listen to their story (everyone has one you know), yet these same Christians often require them to listen to the gospel story before they can eat (a hungery stomach makes for a poor listener), and that approach seems heartless to the lost homeless soul.

[Guest stevej]

I worked for 4 years of my life in homeless ministry. Housing, feeding, medical needs, clothing, and many other things are physically needed continually. This is why the Gospel is so important. The gospel offers hope to the hopeless, and the hearing of the word brings faith on the scene. Maybe the greatest need for most homeless is a new idea, a new thought pattern.

Many homeless (I have spoken to thousands individually) are very sceptical of Christians because they feel they they are despised and looked upon as inferior by most Christians in general and the wealthy ones in particular. It has been hard not to agree with their assessment generally.

I just received a beautiful Christmas Card with photos of a dear Christian man and his wife. I first met this man several years ago as he and another man jumped from a train they had been riding in for hundreds of miles as modern day hobo's and hippies. Both refused to enter the homeless shelter (where I was on staff) so I let them stay in my RV. I nearly got fired for doing so, but I believed that the Lord had shown me that both of these guys would become Christians, and they just needed a little extra effort to do so. I would eventually move them both into my home, where they lived with my wife, myself, and our nine children. They eventually both became fine Christian men, and they have been short term missionaries to Kazistan and Israel, and both are very precious and deeply in love with Jesus Christ and his people. One now lives in Tennesee with his family, and another lives in Vermont with his family.

There are thousands of reasons why people become homeless, some have a mind set that material things don't matter, but in freezing weather both warm clothing and a warm room, though material, matter greatly. We had many that suffered from hypothermia (cold and alcohol are bad combinations) including one guy that froze off all his fingers and toes, and half of his hands and feet. The stench was unbelievable, and the members of his body were black and almost shiny except where the cracks occurred and drained. His surgeries were numerous because they tried to save as much of his body as possible, so it was like they had to cut off 8 inches of flesh and bone, but 2 inches at a time, you just could not have pity on him, though it was all completely his own fault, still it was tragic.

People that get saved start becoming more and more responsible, keeping themselves clean, seeking work, paying bills, saving a little money, and eventually being able to enter careers or ministry or whatever their course is to be. Having a home is usually just responsibility mets opportunity, and not having a home is often just the absence on one or both of these elements.

Anyway, Jesus loves them all, and desires good for all that will allow good to come to them.

It is good to hear from someone who has been in the "trenches" with the homeless. I would also like to point out that many Christians also feel the need to go "homeless" so to speak. My wife and i discussed this some time back. I had told her that if she meets the Lord before i do, it would be my desire to go "homeless" in a fashion. I would love to go and to a certain extent isolate myself from the world and write. Being a hermit sounds wonderful..yet one still has to eat, etc and tho i am sure i could learn, the point is I would still need some modern things like a computer, etc.

This all has been said to point out the fallacy in this theory. Jesus said "Go, ye therefore" and the bottom line for me is how can i share my faith without being part of the non-homeless crowd..it is not possible.

Besides which how would i bug good folks like Marnie, and Butero, and the many others whose posts i enjoy?

[AnotherTraveler]

Besides which how would i bug good folks like Marnie, and Butero, and the many others whose posts i enjoy?

Thank you for this What a joy it can be here to be with others of faith that have a light heart and yet a desire for the will of God.

[GeneV]

How could He not???

[Leonard]

Yes, but Jesus is an exceptionally good sport!

[apothanein kerdos]

So we've established that Jesus loves the homeless. The question is, do the homeless of our time know this through our actions toward them?

I think what we've established is that Jesus loves everyone. I don't think he cares more for the person on the street, than for someone living in a fine home. People that are homeless are in that state for differen't reasons. Some are there through no fault of their own, and some are there because they prefer it over being a productive member of society. I would love to see some type of program offered to these people to give them a helping hand towards getting a job and a place to live, but I would imagine that many would turn such help down.

How would you suggest that Christians show the love of Jesus towards the homeless? Would it simply be to keep enabling them, or do you have some suggestions of how we could give them practical help in ceasing to be homeless?

Our church did something in Vegas in October. We went to one of the sidestreets, where many homeless gather, and told them that we were looking for a dozen men to come and work on our church--cleaning, sweeping, nothing particularly difficult. In exchange we would pay them $50.00 for an afternoon's work or give them food vouchers their choice. What a surprise...they all shuffled off in the other direction; we had not one volunteer. So, pardon me if I seem a bit jaded with regards to the so-called homeless.

My apologies - I forgot the Bible gave conditions on helping those who are poor. If you could, please give me these passages that give the conditions, especially where Jesus commands us to help the poor and then lists off the loopholes for this.

If someone chooses not to work then that is one thing...but to blanket an entire community...like I said, I'm going to wait for those passages.

Butero, to answer your question, it's not easy. For one, those who don't want to work would have to learn via the book of Proverbs, that a man who is not willing to work will go hungry. Unfortunately, those who are willing to work are often, too often I might add, lumped in with these who do not want to work. We also forget that some do not want to work because they have lost hope - many are not skilled, educated, or always get jobs that end up temporary due to completion of work. The best thing would be if the church would help give these men a minimum education, a GED or even an associates degree, and help them along the way. There is a lot to be done, but honestly, I think the money we're wasting on building bigger and better sanctuaries could actually be better spent alleviating this problem of poverty.

Does anyone remember why Isaiah gave a negative review of Hezekiah?