Beyond the Bag

Here at the church we have a food pantry ministry. For whatever reason, we only open it on Thursday mornings. On those mornings, those that are in need are welcome to come grab a bag of food for their family. Since I started working in the office in June, I've actually seen this ministry in motion first hand.

Well, today a lady came in and grabbed a bag of food. You could call her a regular...she comes just about every week. Sitting in my corner office in the back, I can hear the voices and I've finally come to recognize hers...a bit raspy and she sounds like a very kind lady. She says hello; we offer her a bag with food, a 3 month devotional and salvation tract; she goes on her way until next week. But today, after all this time, we finally went beyond the Thursday routine. We got to know this lady as more than someone in need of food. We FINALLY got to know what her name was. We FINALLY found out another way we could help her. She said she was in need of a job...and through prayer we can help her in that way.

Mind you, I'm in my office during this whole time...I just listen. And it dawned on me that these are the kind of people who I truly and genuinely have a burden for. Those outside the church walls who are simply in true need. I'll be honest...not even 6 months ago, my heart wasn't in the right place with this ministry. I would internally question their motives and wonder "Do they really need this food?", but thankfully God convicted me of that. If they're in need, they come...with no questions asked on my part anymore. Personally, I don't even think it should just be limited to 3 hours on Thursday morning. If someone comes to our church in need of food, let's just give it to them. First off, they're obviously in true need if they've taken the time to come from wherever to ask. Secondly (if we--the church--truly strive to be Christ-like), I don't think Christ put a three hour time limit on healing others and doing miracles, so why should we?

I've said it before, I'm really not a people person. But I do have a burden for those in dire need, people I don't know but somehow I feel that they're in need of something, whether it's food, a job, or something else. Obviously we can't help with everything...God's given us the food pantry specifically for a reason to help those who are without food. The thought that just continually keeps running through my mind is if we the church...if we just go through the weekly Thursday motion of handing a bag of food, if that's how we show compassion, what do they think of us? They're are probably secular organizations who show more compassion and concern, and we're proclaiming to be like Christ, and that's how we minister?

I'm not saying anything bad against our food pantry ministry or anything...I love the idea. I just think the compassion and true motive to help others has been lost along the way. These people are in need, and if we as the church and Christians can't help them with love and concern in our hearts, who will?