Equally Human

I'm on the board of directors of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, a fellowship of nearly 300 rescue missions in North America. streetsmart keeps our members informed in current events and with what is happening within the association.

The devotional, written by a friend of mine, was very good and speaks to what we are trying to accomplish at Souls Harbour RESCUE Mission:

Tomorrow’s Builders

“He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left” (2 Kings 24:14).

God seemed to have disappeared for the nation of Israel. New King Jehoiachin was doing evil. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was expanding his kingdom. Jehoiachin, his mother, nobles, and attendants had just surrendered. What else could go wrong? After confiscating all of the treasures of the temple and the palace, Nebuchadnezzar decided to take everyone in Jerusalem with him back to Babylon—except the poorest people of the land.

Poor people didn't matter to Nebuchadnezzar. They had no value in his worldview. He may have thought, “Good riddance to them!”

While cultural rhetoric today champions the poor, the actions of those in authority seem to mimic what Nebuchadnezzar did to the most impoverished people of Jerusalem. They seem to say, “Let them fend for themselves.”

The story doesn't end there for these poor people. When we jump forward to the account of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall, we discover he recruits the remnant of the people still in Jerusalem—the descendants of the "poorest people of the land"—to help with reconstruction. Who some saw as worthless, God sees as valuable.

How do we look at the poor today? As victims? As derelicts, drunks, addicts, crazies, or welfare moms—brought to the bottom by their own actions? Or as the people God is going to use to rebuild the city?

Contributed by Jim Harriger, executive director, Springfield Victory Mission (Springfield, Mo.)

As a Mission that does not rely on government funding, it is important that we gain friends in all areas and social stratas. One of my main joys is seeing those who have participated in our one year LifeChange Program participate in volunteerism at the Mission and become active in our church, the Good News Chapel.

While the mingling of the classes is something rescue missions have become adept at, there remains the challenge to break down those stereo-typical barriers in society. To rebuild the wall, we first have to break it down. With each person that steps foot in the Mission or the Good News Chapel, we are one step closer to seeing people with God's eyes - that is, equally human.