A Compassionate Heart

A Compassionate Heart

“When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” [Jesus] said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

My dear friend Susie loves to befriend those who are homeless in our community. She doesn’t just serve them once and then leave, but truly builds relationships with them over time. She gives rides and offers other practical assistance when she can, and she also listens to their stories, prays for them, and believes God has called her to love them well.

Some people have been critical of Susie’s relationships with her new friends. They worry that she is putting herself in unsafe situations. Although she understands their concerns about her safety, she is not unwise in the way that she approaches others who, to her, are not a project. She sees each one as a whole person, valuable in God’s eyes, and sees her actions as more than just ministry or service to others. She’s actually doing life with people, befriending them and supporting them along the way.

When I hear Susie share about her friends in the community who are homeless, it challenges me in the way that I think about and interact with others. Susie has a very clear understanding of God’s love for the homeless, and she is passionate about seeing them know and experience that love through her words and actions. It reminds me of what Jesus said in Luke, that we should not invite just our friends and family and well-off neighbors into our homes, but instead invite those whom society might look down upon. When we do, God sees our actions to care for those who have nothing to give in return, and he will reward us.

— Kendra

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Extend a hand of friendship toward someone in your community who is homeless by giving them something to eat, supplying a piece of needed clothing, or offering an encouraging word or smile.