Hope and Hopelessness
This morning, I was out with my small group at Lenox Mall helping Atlanta Union Mission raise awareness and donations through doing a free gift-wrapping service for shoppers at the mall. I will say that it was interesting having a gift-wrapping crew of 4 guys and a 7-year old boy there, but volunteer talent sometimes doesn't bring much talent.
My role, once we got started, was to stand at the main booth and drive traffic toward the gift wrapping area. In my station, there was a sign on the back with these words: "Hope for the Hopeless." I thought it was a good slogan for a ministry that rescues homeless people from the streets and puts them on a path to recovery and hope.
I had a lot of conversations with folks this morning, a lot of those looking for the food court, but the most interesting one I had was a guy that took some offense at this sign's words. He said basically that if they have hope, then they're not "hopeless." He started to talk about the term that his organization used to describe them as "People in Transition" and that nobody wants be called "hopeless."
While I agree in principle, that we need to avoid labeling people and groups negatively, I don't know if I'd agree philosophically about the reality of many folks that seek help from organizations like this. In fact, I'm sure that in reality the situations that many of them find themselves in would truly make them hopeless and helpless. Many people who find themselves on the street have a lot of cards stacked against them... no money, addictions, depression... it's not pretty. In many cases, they themselves would admit that their situation is indeed... hopeless.
So how did they get hope? First, they made strides to find help, but even more than that they received hope because someone stepped in the gap between their dire circumstances and recovery and gave them hope. That's what the people working day-after-day at Atlanta Union Mission do -- and now men, women, and children are off the street and have hope because they stood in the gap and worked on their behalf.
But they can only do so much. There is more work to be done. And yes, there are many on the streets that need someone or a group of someones to come and stand in the gap so that they can make a step toward hope. The question you can ask yourself is: What can I do to stand in the gap for one of them? Can you serve? Can you give? Can you invest time to mentor? There's so much that we can do, we just need to step out and do it.
And Christmas is a good time to start. After all, this is the season that we celebrate the moment in time when God stepped in the gap...
For you and for me.
My role, once we got started, was to stand at the main booth and drive traffic toward the gift wrapping area. In my station, there was a sign on the back with these words: "Hope for the Hopeless." I thought it was a good slogan for a ministry that rescues homeless people from the streets and puts them on a path to recovery and hope.
I had a lot of conversations with folks this morning, a lot of those looking for the food court, but the most interesting one I had was a guy that took some offense at this sign's words. He said basically that if they have hope, then they're not "hopeless." He started to talk about the term that his organization used to describe them as "People in Transition" and that nobody wants be called "hopeless."
While I agree in principle, that we need to avoid labeling people and groups negatively, I don't know if I'd agree philosophically about the reality of many folks that seek help from organizations like this. In fact, I'm sure that in reality the situations that many of them find themselves in would truly make them hopeless and helpless. Many people who find themselves on the street have a lot of cards stacked against them... no money, addictions, depression... it's not pretty. In many cases, they themselves would admit that their situation is indeed... hopeless.
So how did they get hope? First, they made strides to find help, but even more than that they received hope because someone stepped in the gap between their dire circumstances and recovery and gave them hope. That's what the people working day-after-day at Atlanta Union Mission do -- and now men, women, and children are off the street and have hope because they stood in the gap and worked on their behalf.
But they can only do so much. There is more work to be done. And yes, there are many on the streets that need someone or a group of someones to come and stand in the gap so that they can make a step toward hope. The question you can ask yourself is: What can I do to stand in the gap for one of them? Can you serve? Can you give? Can you invest time to mentor? There's so much that we can do, we just need to step out and do it.
And Christmas is a good time to start. After all, this is the season that we celebrate the moment in time when God stepped in the gap...
For you and for me.
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