Jesus, Friend of Sinners

So, as most of you know, I'm a huge fan of music. I love it and I have to get my fix every day or I get a little sad. Amy bought the new Casting Crowns album (only because she got a gift card when she bought it). Let me just say... AMAZING! There's some average songs, but let me tell you what. It's got some super awesome lyrics. The song Jesus, Friend of Sinners is amazing. It basically punches the typical church in the teeth! It says

"We cut down people in your name with a sword that was never ours to swing"
"The world is on their way to you, but they're tripping overme."
"Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing finger"
"Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against when we judge the wounded."
"What if we put down the signs, crossed over the lines, and loved like you did?"

Wow... Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. We cannot seek and we definitely cannot save if we avoid... Jesus told us not to judge, yet that is exactly what we do when we see a man on the street, a pregnant teen, a pregnant homeless woman... We say "She's homeless! She should be more careful to not get pregnant. She put herself in that position." I say shut up... Shut up and show that person that you care. Show that person that Jesus does indeed care for her. O, I know... you're busy. Your show is coming on in 10 minutes. The food needs to get started. You need to go to church... I'll just say that one day God is not going to say "Congratulations, my child. You were able to prepare meals on time all the time. You never missed an episode of your TV show. You never missed a church opportunity. Enter into the Kingdom!

He's going to do quite the opposite. He is going to say that when I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was in prison, you visited me. Jesus said that whatsoever you do to the least of these, you've done for him. How about we quit doing things for ourselves and do something for Jesus (aka. the homeless, poor, marginalized, hurting, sick, old, and dying. That's what Jesus would do...

I've been going to downtown Chicago on Sundays doing a program called "Sunday Snacks." We (students at Trinity) fix lunches and drinks and then walk the streets of Chicago and talk to and feed the homeless living down there. There are so many different people out there. Some are super friendly and love to talk, others don't so much at all. Some are so grateful and some don't care much. There's something that a few of them always tend to say. When you ask them how things are going, they will say, as they look upward, "He woke me up again this morning. I can't complain." AHA! That's it, isn't it. If we are grateful for waking up in the morning, maybe we won't get upset when we burn supper or when it seems like there is no time in the schedule for anything. I think we can all learn a lot from the "bums." We would all do well to spend some time with them. As Casting Crowns' song The City on a Hill, on their new album says: "It's the story of the poor man that needs to be told."

Anyways, the reason that I'm posting today is that I actually have an hour of free time between classes at school. So, thanks for reading and have a nice day!