Sarah Youngquist is now in her second year at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Part of her training for ministry has included witness to persons on the street. Sarah notes, “I have learned what it really feels like to love the unloved.”
She continues…
“My Jesus bled and died for my sins/ He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars/ He loved the poor and accosted the rich/ So which one do you want to be? These lyrics from the chorus of “My Jesus” by Todd Agnew, reflect the kind of Jesus I see when I read the Gospels. The Jesus of the Gospels was not afraid to be associated with prostitutes, lepers, and tax collectors-the lowest people in society in that day. He ate with tax collectors and sinners (Matt. 9:10). He associated with a Samaritan woman even though Samaritans were looked down on by the Jews (John 4:1-44). He let a prostitute anoint His feet with perfume (Luke 7:36-50). He healed a leper (Mark 1:40-45).
“The Jesus I find when I read the Bible was willing to reach out to those in need, love them, and lead them to His side. As a Christian striving to live in the image of Christ, I am compelled to reach out to those who are in need in order to love them and show Christ to them.
“At first, I decided to start reaching out to the homeless because it sounded like a challenge, something new; but I have learned so much this year. I have learned what it truly feels like to love the unloved. For me in high school, serving others meant going and cooking a meal and serving it to the homeless. I felt like I had done my duty and helped the less fortunate, which in a sense I had. But, I don’t know that I necessarily treated them like Christ did.
“Christ spoke with them, and He cared about them. I never really got to know the people who came and ate. I didn’t have a relationship with them. I had no idea what their stories were. I had no idea if their day had been a good one or a crappy one.
“Forming relationships with the people on the streets here in Chicago has shown me what it is like to love the least of these as Christ did. It is more than just giving some food to people who are hungry. It is about forming relationships and friendships with these people and showing them that they have dignity and that someone cares about them. Often, my friends and I see people that we have known for awhile and catch up on our weeks and laugh together. People passing by give some weird looks when they see white middle class college students sitting on the side of the street talking and laughing with an African-American homeless man. Other times, we meet someone new and start a new relationship. Sometimes, someone we know is at the end of their rope and my heart aches for them.
“When you build relationships with people, ministry becomes so much more personal. I believe this is more like Christ intended us to live as Christians. To love people until it hurts. To take risks. To be willing to go against the cultural norms to love people.”
Posted Last November…
“Amidst the bustle of the city street on a weekday evening, a group of middle class college students stops to talk to the man selling Street Wise newspapers outside Walgreens. The man greets the students and asks them how they are. They answer with the usual replies of typical college students-busy day, papers, and homework. The man then tells them about his life since they had seen him the week before. The week before, he was regretting not having told the truth in a particular situation. He told the students that he had gone back and told the truth. He also told them that his request for housing, that they had prayed about the week before, had been denied but that he was still holding onto his faith even though it was shaky. He went on to talk about God and quote Scripture for several minutes. The man asked to pray with the students. They joined hands, bowed heads, and took turns praying for the man and themselves right outside Walgreens.
“This is not fiction; this is ministry in the heart of Chicago. This was one of my experiences while out ministering to the homeless in Chicago, or ‘our friends’ as my group calls them. I wonder though if perhaps the homeless are ministering to me more than I am ministering to them. While my group does have questions in our minds regarding this man’s recent turnaround, only God really knows where his heart is and all we can do is pray for him and minister to him. However, he taught me a lesson that night without his realizing it. He taught me that we need to take our masks down as Christians.
“So many times we put on a mask while around other Christians and act like we have it all together. We don’t share our struggles and doubts with each other. This man shared where he was at with us and asked us for prayer. He was willing to admit he didn’t have it all together, but he was not giving up or ‘bowing the knee to Nebuchadnezzar,’ as he put it. All of us have our doubts, faith that is shaky at best, and struggles. We all are broken people whether we are homeless, college students, fathers, mothers, businessmen, professionals, or factory workers. All of us know deep down that we can’t make it through life on our own. We all need Christ to come into our lives and heal our brokenness.
“While this is the initial process in salvation, we will never be perfect this side of heaven. We are in a process of constant sanctification. We need other believers in our lives to encourage us and help us along the journey. I pray that we will all have boldness like the homeless Street Wise vendor to take off our masks and expose our imperfections so that we may help and encourage and strength each other as the body of Christ.
“After my group had gone into Walgreens and talked to one of our friends who worked there, we said goodbye to the man selling Street Wise outside. I left him with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas, and some Capri Sun, but he left me with food for thought that night.”
