1833- HENRY
I’ve been getting together with
the homeless guys these past few days- I haven’t seen Henry in a while and I
thought I better check up on the guys.
Henry- who I have written about a
lot- is one of the close friends from the street.
He grew up in the north east-
Mass. - so we have ties.
Henry is a true bible scholar- I
mean I might mention a verse and Henry will quote the entire chapter- it’s kind
of like a Rain Man type thing- but instead of remembering the gambling numbers-
he does it with the bible.
Anyway we had a good fellowship-
we went for a nice ride over the causeway and headed towards Rockport- just a
chance for Henry to see the area.
I went to pick him up at the boat
dock where he works- but missed him- caught him at the mission.
I gave Henry some money- he
doesn’t drink or get drunk [or do drugs] with the money so it’s not like I’m contributing
to the delinquency of a senior.
When we got back to the house I
cooked a few things for Henry- though he did not want me to- yet he ate well.
He likes to catch the sports on
my Direct TV- he’s a sports nut- knows all the latest stats- reads the scores
in the paper- or catches a coffee at the Mexican restaurant and watches the
sports on the tube.
From what I have picked up over
the years- I think Henry used to be one of the top wrestlers at his high
school- till this day- Henry looks to be in top physical shape- like he works
out- he’s a few years older than me- 52?- yet he’s a health nut.
So he likes being able to catch
the multiple sports channels on my TV.
Henry had a good day- and for a
real homeless guy- looks the part- you would never know what a straight shooter
he is.
One time we were sitting at the homeless
mission and they were gonna do the Lords Supper.
I said ‘great- I'm in’ Henry did
not partake- he later told me it would be a violation of the apostle Paul’s
order to the Corinthians not to partake with sinners- and yes- some of the guys
were drunk.
Yeah- he was right- I just felt
like I needed to partake at the time.
The next day I took a ride to the
bay front area of our city- one of the most beautiful downtowns you will ever
see- many post cards have the area highlighted.
I just took a walk by the bay-
and spotted a homeless girl- I was surprised- I rarely have seen them in that
area.
I talked to her a little while
and gave her some money- she was a Black girl.
About a mile down the road I also
saw a Black kid sleeping on the bench- obviously homeless too- I think she
might have been with him.
The other day I mentioned that in
the next few weeks I will try and read/study 1st John.
He is the 3rd ‘pillar’
in the 3 main church leaders that we wanted to cover.
Even though I barley started
reading the letter- I know one of the main themes from John is ‘he that obeys
Gods commands is from God’.
John hits this theme a lot.
And then he says the command is
‘he that sees his brother in need and does not help him- how can Gods love be
in you?’
This theme is repeated over and over
again in John’s letter- and it’s the same message Jesus gave when he was asked
what the great commandment was.
‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart, soul, mind and might- and your neighbor as yourself’.
Jesus said ‘on these 2 hang all
the law and the prophets’.
Yeah- this is the major emphasis
that we will look at when we cover his letter.
I think I will try and see the guy’s
today- maybe go down to the mission for a little while.
Not all of the homeless are like
Henry- Henry works- does not get ‘a check’ [if you knew how many young guys- perfect
health- are all getting govt. checks it would make you sick].
No- Henry- like some of my other friends [Tim]
does not live off of the welfare system.
They do eat the free lunch at the
mission [which I do not- I don’t take the meals that are intended for the poor]
yet I see retried/working people drive up in the cars- or on their motorcycles-
and they simply come for the free food.
The mission even has said to me
‘John- eat- because the more people who sign up- the more money we get’.
Geez- I know they mean well- but
it’s like when I worked at the fire dept. - we tried to use all the money in
our budget- even if we didn’t need it- just so they wouldn’t cut our budget the
next year.
So we need to keep these things
in mind when the accusation is made politically ‘they want to take food from
grandma- kids’ in some of these cases its food from people who have it- but
they prefer the free meals instead.
All in all I focus on the truly
needy- the guys who have lived their entire lives on the streets.
Yeah- John said if we see our brother
in need and don’t help him- then how can we say Gods love is in us?
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to ‘click’ the note App on my Facebook
Profile- I have posted lots.
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