HOPE is a ministry of
Jefferson Street Baptist Center
733 East Jefferson Street | Louisville, KY 40203
CONTACT US
Email: hope@jeffersonstreet.orgPhone: 502.584.6543
Fax: 502.584.4377
JSBC exists to serve homeless people. Even more specifically, JSBC exists to make known the good news of Jesus Christ in both word and deed to the homeless of Louisville.
We don’t see this expression as an extra-spiritual passion. We see serving those in need as a fundamental action of our faith. The reasons for this can be found in the 2000+ passages of scripture that refer to God’s concern for the poor.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN.
The Bible tells us that to go to Heaven, we must love God with everything we’ve got and also love our neighbors like we love ourselves. A Jewish Lawyer asks Jesus the question “Who is my neighbor?” In typical fashion, Jesus responds with a story that blows the whole question wide open and exposes the heart of humanity.
A man gets beat up by some robbers. He’s left for dead. Two devoutly religious men pass him by; perhaps out of fear for their life, perhaps out of respect for an appointment they’d made, Perhaps out of misguidance from their own legalism. Regardless, this man does not receive the help he needs from the very people who were supposed to give it.
An outcast comes along; someone not respected by the listening party; considered a half-breed. He sees the injured man and “has compassion on him”. He cares for his physical needs, gets him to a place of safety, takes money out of his own pocket to pay for it, and makes sure that he receives ongoing care for his needs.
In this story, we learn that we are to love and care for everyone we see that is in need.
FAMILY OF FAITH FIRST, BUT ALSO EVERYONE ELSE.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Here, we learn that Christians are to give first priority to fellow believers. If you only have $100 and you’ve got two people that need $75 a piece, give first to the believer in need, but also give the last $25 to the non-Christian. Some Christians mistakenly believe that we are only to care for other Christians, but clearly Paul shoots down this notion. Christians are to be Jesus’ hands of compassion and care for ALL those in need in the world.
SEEKING THE GOOD OF OTHERS.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:24 “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” In a world where we are often consumed by the houses we want to buy, the restaurants we want to eat in, the people we want to spend time with, the movies we want to watch and the sleep we want to get, it can feel like staring at Mount Everest to consider sacrificing our time and desires for the sake of a stranger. It can be even more difficult to consider doing these for the sake of a stranger who might be homeless because they made a series of sinful choices that led them there.
GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES?
We find ourselves wondering “Do I really need to give to them? After all, they did this to themselves. I’m where I am because I made decent choices.”
Aren’t we glad God doesn’t look at us like this? Aren’t we glad that “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”? Jesus did not wait for us to get our lives in order or to begin making Godly choices before he reached out in love and became involved in our lives. On the contrary, he came at the moment he did because we were in need and he loved us. His compassion called for a response to meet our needs. Just like us, the homeless have needs – both physical and spiritual – and God has called his Church to be the caretakers of those in need.
Remember, the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is not found anywhere in the Bible and is a direct contradiction to God’s compassion shown to us. In reality, God helps those who cannot help themselves.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.
Other times we will meet people in our neighborhoods or on the streets who are aggressive, rude or manipulative in their efforts. No doubt much wisdom is needed to properly handle these situations.
As much as we often want to wash our hands of these people and let God teach them a lesson through Hard Knocks, we find two verses that calls us to a different response. The first gives us a command. The second gives us an answer.
In Luke 6:27, Jesus tells us to “Do good to those who hate you.” The pain of this action can sometimes feel unbearable. Looking up at someone expecting to find eyes of gratitude and instead finding eyes of bitterness can create calluses and foster our own bitterness (What an amazingly effective tool of the Enemy.). Sometimes they hate us because we do not have the same physical needs. Sometimes they hate us because we are the Giver and they are the Receiver. Sometimes they hate us because we are impatient or snobby or we bully them with Scripture. And sometimes they hate us because they hate God and they see his light inside us. Any of these motives are equally possible.
So why should we do good to these people? Because in Matthew Jesus tells us to “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven.” We do the good things we do only because of God. In the end, credit goes where credit is due. And all the credit goes to God. With each act of service and sacrifice, it is our hope that people will know these things as a gift from God to them – and they will give their thanks to God, not to us.
MERCY.
In the excellent book Ministries of Mercy, Tim Keller teaches that we should “Let mercy limit mercy.” What Keller means by this is that at some point it is no longer merciful to help someone. At some point, acts of mercy must be removed in order to allow the person to experience the fruit of their decisions. Eventually, mercy can become enabling. Enabling someone is to cripple them.
JUMPING THE GUN.
Many Christians make the mistake of arriving at this place before ever becoming truly involved in the situation. We’ve all seen it. The evening news comes on and Christian men and women, from the comfort of our laz-e-boys and air conditioned homes, pass judgment on every poor person that comes across the screen. We fail to ask ourselves, “Lord, is this my neighbor?” because we are fearful he will say “Of course that’s your neighbor!” Bestowing death is the act of sin. Giving life is the art of Christ.
THE NEED FOR WISDOM.
Working with the homeless is confusing and difficult. The balance between “doing good to all men” and letting “mercy limit mercy” requires wisdom. Constantly, we are faced with the decision to remove care because of people abusing our system’s flaws and continuing to provide care knowing full well that we are indeed enabling people. Through prayer, God’s Word and the counsel of wise Christians around us, we must seek God’s wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” – James 1:5
A ROLE REVERSAL.
A final reason we should love the homeless is found in Matthew 25. Here, Jesus tells us “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
In the book The Externally Focused Church authors Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson write “It is not those to whom we minister who meet Jesus in a ministry encounter; it is the ones who are doing the ministering! We’re not Jesus to them. They are Jesus to us!”
The passage puts Jesus himself in the role of the person in need. And yet if it is Jesus we are serving, in actuality we are the ones being ministered to by him.
LOVING THE HOMELESS.
Each day, staff and volunteers here at JSBC meet in the morning for a Bible Study. Each day we ask God to give us wisdom as we deal with seemingly impossible situations. He has called us to trust him in our lives as we wait on him to do what may seem impossible. But our God is a God of miracles. He can do the impossible.
JSBC exists to battle homelessness and give people dignity; to share the unquenchable love of God with people whom the world has turned their back on; to both be Christ to a lost world and find Christ in the most unlikely places.
JSBC exists to make known the good news of Jesus Christ in both word and deed to the homeless of Louisville.
by Jesse Eubanks, HOPE Director
