Amazing Love

Every time I go out on Street Outreach, I’m amazed at how God opens my eyes afresh to recognize one of his attributes or mercifully convicts me of sin in my heart. This time, I was reminded of God’s incredible love and was convicted of my lack of love.

On the downtown streets of Ottawa, drug abuse is overt and unmistakable. Week after week, street outreach teams encounter people who are so caught up in addiction they struggle to stand, struggle to speak, struggle to even take the sandwich or water we offer them. When I see people in such a state, I find myself asking, “Is there even any ‘person’ left in them?” It’s easy to see them as a problem, something seemingly so broken it’s beyond repair.

But Jesus never sees people as problems. And Jesus never sees them as beyond his saving grace. The New Testament is full of stories of Jesus healing and helping the outcasts, the dirty, and the rejected. Each person is created in his image and is precious to him, no matter what we may see or think. When Jesus sees them, he actually can see all of their issues, not just the ones that we see, and yet he loves them completely. So much so that he died to save them and us, “while we were still sinners,” caught in our addictions (Romans 5:8). What amazing love! If the God of the universe still loves our street friends and sees them as his children made in his image, who am I to think of them as anything less?

While it’s easy to pass our street friends by, divert our eyes, or forget that these are people with souls whom we are serving, I am grateful for the Lord’s reminder of his love for them. May he give us his eyes and his love for those around us.

~ Lydia, Summer Student

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash