When you were a kid, was there something you wanted really bad but your dad or mom said a definite no? You can probably feel the frustration that you had at that time, right now, as you think about it.
I remember when I was a kid, one day a stray dog showed up. My mom, brother, and I really wanted to take it in. The dog was really matted looking and really dirty. Our hearts went out to the dog. But my dad said a definite no.
Our neighbor came by and I don’t really remember what he said to my dad but he convinced him to take it in. So he went cautiously to catch it. He took her to our tub to clean her up. She was a mess. She was matted, dirty, and had big bruises.
The next day my mom took her to get groomed. When she went to pick her up she told the lady it was not her dog, she looked so different. She was so beautiful. She was a Cockapoo and had silvery/grey/black hair.
She was the best dog that we ever had. She was so loving. We did not have her long, I don’t remember the time frame, maybe a couple three years. She ended up getting cancer, which probably came from her injuries. But I am telling you it was worth all the time we had with her. We were grateful my dad finally said yes and he would agree.
It made me think about how we look at people. When we see people do we see them as “matted and dirty”? Or do we look passed the surface? A lot of people are a mess. They are matted and dirty with sin. They maybe bruised physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. How do we respond to them? Do we draw them to us or do we say absolutely no? I don’t want to be bothered.
Just like stray dogs there are a lot of stray people. The question is how can we reach out to them. Just like a stray dog can be dangerous and bite you, people can be dangerous as well, even more dangerous. So how can we reach the people?
Here are some steps that I would recommend. There can be many answers to these questions but I am just going to give you a few ideas.
- Seek wisdom from God. We are all individuals and I don’t think that any of us can tell someone else how to reach out to people. God is the One with the wisdom. He is the one that can guide and protect.
- Ask God for divine appointments. God can lead you to the ones that He wants you to minister to.
- Ask for God’s love. People can sense our disgust or love. The atmosphere we carry around us is felt. If they sense our love it can be a wonderful thing for them and we haven’t even said a word.
- Smile! It is amazing what a smile can do for a person.
- Qualify whom you reach out to. I think a good rule of thumb is to reach out to your own gender. Men reach out to men and women to women. That can be a safer thing to do.
- If they walk into church don’t shun them. We don’t need to know the motive of why they are there, it may be a selfish one, but that is not our job. We need to show love. And we need to be in tune with God.
Dear Father,
This can be such a hard thing to do, to reach out to the unlovely. We ask for Your wisdom. We know that You love all. You love the sinner but hate the sin. For us we struggle with separating the two, please help us. Thank You for the love You have shown us and help us to remember where You have brought us from.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
We need to draw so close to God that when people are struggling they can feel His love through us.
Love you all.
What divine appointments has God given you and how did He help you?
Maybe you are someone who was in a bad place and someone reached out to you. Tell us how God used a person in your life.
I would love to hear the testimonies.