Have mercy

I was riding in a taxi and it was stopped at one of the few red lights in the city of Bombay India. I heard a tap, tap, tapping on my window and when I turned around I saw a pitiful sight. A man was staring at me and he had a beat up tin cup clutched in his hands. He was dressed in very shabby clothes and looked old beyond his time. He did not have any fingers and was clutching his tin cup with mere nubs. One of his ears was gone; he was a leper. I shall never forget the haunting look of his eyes as they pierced through my all. It was if he was looking past my eyes and into and beyond my very soul. I stopped the taxi and gave him some money; his expression never changed. No smile and no light in his eyes; just a blank haunting stare.

Although this happened several years ago and my encounter with this man lasted only minutes, I do not think I will ever forget it and honestly I hope that I do not. I think Jesus Christ put that poor man in my path to remind me that but for the grace of God I could be in the same condition; sick and poor beyond measure with little hope.

Yesterday my wife Teresa and I visited a homeless shelter in Sarasota Florida. I was there on their behalf to speak at a fund raiser and we visited the shelter prior to my speaking engagement. We went around introducing ourselves to all of their “clients”. They looked poor and scruffy, but the ones that I spoke with all had positive attitudes and were genuinely grateful that we were there trying to help raise money for their refuge. One lady softly thanked my wife just for “shaking her hand”. (Imagine that one! “Thanks for shaking my hand.” This brought tears to her eyes I tell you) We toured the facility and saw volunteers fixing bicycles in order to give to those who needed transportation to jobs; we saw folks counseling people, sorting clothing to give to those going on job interviews, cooking hot dogs, arranging medical services, etc. It was inspiring!

As we prepared to leave to go to the luncheon, I noticed a small 10×10 area set aside with a few toys in it and three or four small homeless children were playing in it. One of the little girls looked to be about the same age as my twin granddaughters and I went over to say hi. As one would expect her beautiful face was a little dirty, her clothes were somewhat tattered, but the thing that struck me was the blank look on her face. I had seen that look somewhere before; I could not think of where and then I remembered she looked at me with the same blank expression as I saw on the leper from India. She looked old beyond her years and the thing that struck me nmost was that there was no smile on this beautiful little child. I awoke at 1:00 AM thinking of her and praying for her.

Sigh Please help the poor; especially in these tough economic times. Give money or volunteer, or both. Jesus will bless you and there are just not enough volunteers and donors doing it to meet the need. We should not and cannot rely on our government to take care of the poor in this very rich country Do your part, won’t you find a cause that you can be a part of?

Proverbs 14:21
He who has mercy on the poor,
Happy is he