in a better place?
He shares a room outside with a dozen other guysAnd the only roof he knows is that
sometimes starry sky
A tattered sleeping bag on a concrete slab is his bed
And it's too cold to talk tonight
So I just sit with him instead and think
How did I find myself in a better place
I can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
'Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
with the face of Christ
After sixteen years in a cold, gray prison yard
Somehow his heart is soft, but keeping simple
faith is hard
He lays his Bible open on the table next to me
And as I heart his humble prayer I feel his longing to be free someday
How did I find myself in a better place
I can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
'Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
with the face of Christ
See you had no choice which day you would be born
Or the color of your skin,
or what planet you'd be on
Would your mind be strong, would your eyes be blue or brown
Whether daddy would be rich, or if momma stuck around at all
So if you find yourself in a better place
You can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
You gotta stoop down low, look him square in the eye
And get a funny feeling, 'cause you might be dealing...
How did I find myself in a better place
I can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
'Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
with the face of Christ
- Chris Rice
I don't know how I forgot to mention what was perhaps my favorite part of Sunday ... sitting and talking with Mike as he ate lunch. He housed the Big Mac and fries that my friend Charlie and I bought for him, and he told us we were his only friends. So, all it takes to be a friend is to buy someone lunch? Apparently that's all it takes to become Mike's friend ... well, that and actually caring about him instead of just trying to sell him stuff that will leave him with an empty soul and empty pockets.
See, Mike's different from you and me ... he stays in a homeless shelter and basically spends all of the meager "allowance" he gets from social services on drugs. But really, is Mike any different at all from you and me? Maybe Mike uses his $15 for cocaine ... but I waste my money on slices of pizza and a bottle or two of a cold brew when I'm out with my friends. Mike buys weed with his money, I buy coffee. Mike walks the streets of the city, trying to avoid danger and looking for a friendly face. I rush from my office to my garage, in a hurry to get to my next important event of the day. Mike suffers from aches and pains from walking all day because he has no place to call home, and the shelter doesn't let him in until 4 pm. I sit at a desk all day and barely use my body at all, then I stumble into my apartment after a "hard day of work" and feel sorry for myself because I am so drained from working a job that I don't enjoy.
Whose face is more like Christ's? That's what I wonder. Where is Christ more likely to be found ... in the self-absorbed Christian rushing off to Bible study, spending her "hard-earned" money on the latest must-have Christian CD and the newest revolutionary book that will tell her how to be a better Christian and how to serve the Lord better? Or is He more likely to be found in the cloudy eyes that have seen things no human should ever witness ... in the wrinkled, weathered face of a man who realizes he is empty and knows where to get his fix? Mike admitted that day that he knows he needs to quit the drugs, because they're killing him. What would I admit to, if I was confronted? What do I need to quit, because it's killing me? Where do I get my fix?
In actuality, who's in the "better" place? Lord, help me to be homeless so that I can find my home only in You. Help me to poor, so that You can shower my life with the riches of Your grace and mercy. Empty my stomach so that I hunger for You. And keep my feet moving, ever in search of the next place You would have me stay, or rest, or eat a Big Mac.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home