The Wrong Answer

As hard as it is to believe, I wasn't surprised.
I was listening to a radio program the other day while going home from work, the host was interviewing a man who had spent 3 years (off and on) as a homeless man.
He was a college student who wanted to know what life was like out on the streets and he was a Christian.
Maybe you can see where I'm going.
The host asked how he was received at the churches he attended, in the cities he did his homeless act in.
The responses he got from the churches didn't surprise me, some escorted him off the church grounds, some asked if they could help him. It was a pretty even mix.
But then he told the story of asking a pastor of a church if the church could help him get some food. The guy was really playing the part of a homeless man, he hadn't eaten for quite a while and he hadn't showered in a week.
The pastor's response?
"We don't do that, we feel God has called us just to worship".
Am I surprised by that?
No.
You see if we are honest we at least feel the same way about dirty people or lost people or hurting people as the pastor of that church. We just don't say it.
It makes following Christ pretty easy, I don't have to care about anybody or anything else. We just want to worship in our little club. There is no risk of being taken advantage of or being deceived. The best part is we can keep the undesirable people out while keeping the "good" people in.
Now I think most churches have figured out that some people simply work the system to keep from working. It's sad when the church has to look out for con artists.
But we are not talking about money in this case. We are talking about food. Driving somebody down to Mickey D's.
I wonder how the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand would have went, "I'm sorry about the fact you are all hungry, I didn't come to earth to feed you". "That's not my thing, my Father called me to die on the cross for you, that's it". "Get a job or eat before you come next time".
I don't think the story would have worked as well.
God has called us to take care of "the least of these". Like it or not (and let's be honest, you and I don't like it) the church has been called to help people. We are to worship, but it can't end there. We cannot wrap ourselves into the church and take a blind eye to the needs around us.
Now before you think I'm perfect, don't. I struggle here as much as anyone else. I have a bad habit of judging people by what I see. I have to make that leap of faith, and begin the relationship process. As I have grown older, I find it a little easier to do. I still have a long way to go.
You see our love is so conditional, I will love the people like me, who think like I do, who believe like I do. I'm really glad that Christ's love for us isn't conditional, we would all be in trouble.
I hope the dirty, lost and hurting find love when they come to you.
Or will they find that the love you claim to have for Christ leaves you with no room to love others.