A Touch of Divine Love
Looking at his disciples, he
said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom
of God. Blessed
are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are
you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed
are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your
reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.” —Luke
6:20–23
A group from my church traveled to Atlanta to work with Pastor Kurt Salerno
and the Church on the Street. The people we encountered slept in alleys,
scrounged for food, and wore the same clothing month after month. The
heartbreaking circumstances that brought them to the street had left many of
them in a cloud of despair.
One of our jobs at a women’s shelter was to sort through clothing
donations. It was touching to watch women from our group select outfits that
would look nice on our “customers.”
What does it take to affirm someone’s dignity? In some cases it may take
something as simple as a nice outfit for a job interview, an armload of free
clothing, and a kind word. In reaching out with God’s love to those who had no
home, our church women felt more blessed to be at home in the family of God.
O Lord, show us how to touch others
with your divine love, even by sharing simple things like an article of
clothing or a cup of cold water.
Sally
Ferguson is a writer living in Jamestown, New York.
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