Repair and Restoration

Isaiah 58:9-12

Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

Tonight I went to see what a local group is doing for the homeless in FLL. They did not have a lot to give. There were not a lot of them. But they did give a dinner and some toiletries to 40 people. The recipients were grateful and several thanked the group on their way back out on the streets.

I looked around room at the people there. They were rough, tired, and broken. They needed a loving hand of help and the group gave it to them.

Somewhere in our society we have lost our compassion for others. Why? Where did it go? Do we feel that it is no longer our responsibility? Are we expecting the government to take care of them?

So what do we need to do? One of our pastors this past week pointed out three things in his message:

1. People need to go and get involved
2. People praying for the needs
3. People giving towards the needs

For myself, I am not sure what it exactly means. But I do know that I need to do something. I have been blessed in many ways and I believe that I need to share some it with those in need.

I spoke with the leader of the group and he said it was simple. He was not asking much of me, but he asked for the same three points that our pastor made. It is what God is asking of us in Isaiah 58 - repair the broken and restore the streets.

I am not naive to think that some are not some on the streets from their own vices. But there are people who do need help. They need a second chance.

As I was leaving, a women drove up in a beat up pick-up truck with a boy sitting in the passenger seat. She asked about the place and whether they had a shelter to spend the night. Unfortunately I had to tell her no, they only serve dinner once a week. I did point her to a place that could help her. She thanked me for the little thing that I told her. It did not feel like to much to me but she seemed genuinely thankful.

For me, I might have to go help serve dinner with them again.