“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
There are a thousand little ways that we can show the love Jesus is talking about in this verses everyday, and I hope that we all avail ourselves of those opportunities. But I also want us to know about specific ways our brothers and sisters in Christ are showing this kind of love in our community. One example of that is a community group in our church that has been serving the Vision House. John and Linda Hicks have been serving there for 10+ years!
If you don’t already know, the Vision House is a faith-based non-profit in our region that provides transitional housing and other resources for families experiencing homelessness. John and Linda’s community group has given gifts and goodies over the years, but their most consistent service project has been to cook a special holiday dinner for the families there.
Colorful veggies!
This year, I spent some time with them while they prepared the meal. We talked about why we do acts of generosity and service. Primarily, of course, it’s in response to the way Jesus has served us through his life and his sacrificial death on the cross. As sinners, we were in a desperate situation. Jesus looked at us, and rather than leaving us to try to figure our own way out, he intervened; and he lifted us out of our mess. The word “generous” doesn’t begin to describe what Jesus did for us. Anything we do to serve others is just a small token showing our recognition of that.
Expanding on this idea, John shared with me that he doesn’t really think a Christmas dinner is going to change someone’s life. It’s unlikely that they will be able to develop a long term relationship with one of the people they give a meal to or have the opportunity to share the gospel with them and see them come to saving faith. He said that it seems to really encourage the staff at the Vision House though, the people who are involved with these families day in and day out and who do have the opportunity to get to know them and share God’s love with them. John told me that he thinks of it kind of like one of those human pyramids. You know, like you did at summer camp? Making Christmas a little more special at the Vision House by bringing a nice meal and some goodies is just a small way John and his group get down on their hands and knees to let the Vision House staff climb on their backs. Those staff members have one less project to handle all on their own, as the work that they do lifts up homeless moms — homeless moms with the weight of their own children on their backs. Are you visualizing it?
The head chef
I can’t tell you how much I loved that visual, and it got me thinking. I thought of the statistic that 50% of the homeless population nationwide were once foster youth. Our church does our best to support the local foster care office as well, and the reality is that these two ministries have a lot of overlap. The likelihood that one generation will repeat the patterns of the one before is sky high. The cycles of poverty are such that it would be nearly impossible for any of us to break out of them without outside support.
The Hicks’ community group, Sound City Bible Church, the Foster Support Faith Alliance, Vision House, we are all just playing a part in the human pyramid. Even still, the cycle will continue for many experiencing homelessness and for those involved with the foster care system, but a few families will make it because of the support they receive. I personally like to picture one child at the top of that pyramid who grows up to break the cycle and experience long term change. I think it’s a beautiful image.
We joked about making a pyramid of our own right there in front of the Hicks’ Christmas tree, just for the laughs; but we decided against it. Even without our own pep rally pyramid, I left their house that day praising God, and inspired by the image of coming underneath and lifting others up, because that sounds like Jesus to me. “For the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45
Roasted squash & treat bags filled with Christmas cookies