Well, later on today we will be flying home. I wish I had the time to have blogged every single day while we were here but it was just not possible. The main issue was exhaustion! Early mornings coupled with late nights, sleeping on the floor packed into a room with too many people, and at times being overwhelmed emotionally and spiritually made the week tough. But with all that said I am not sure that any of us would trade it for anything in the world. We all had a spiritually charged week of service. God has continued to use us and draw us nearer to His heart.
This morning as I write I thinking about blogging about Toronto for the next week or so. I will give you a little more insight on what we have experienced and some of the people we met. The one thought I have today pertains to the Gateway Shelter City Walk that we did earlier this week. The Gateway Shelter is a Salvation Army ministry for the homeless in Toronto. While in some cases our time spent there wasn’t quite what we thought it was in many ways it opened our eyes to the reality the homelessness. It also challenged us to not take things for granted. During our walk there were really two things that had a large impact on me. I will share about one of them today and will share about the other in another blog post very soon.
One of the staff people from Gateway was a man named Anthony. He was basically our guide for the walk. He shared his story and the story of living on the streets in Toronto. It was amazing to hear and experience first hand what his life had been like on the streets. He shared things about his life that were astounding. The fact that he is alive is a testament to God’s grace. Hearing the challenges in life he has had makes you wonder how this man had survived the streets. Anthony at one time had been a crack addict and had also been in and out of jail his entire life. During a slide show before we left the shelter for our walk we saw at least 10-12 mug shots of him from each time he had been arrested. He even told us about what life was like in prison when he had been incarcerated. It was interesting that we also had a discussion about “rehabilitation.” How does a young man like him have hope in a system that too often is set up to not rehabilitate him and give him hope for a life on the outside. I walked away praying and wondering what were the best solutions for people who are on the streets.
But with all that said here is one of the things that really stood out to me. We walked by a church called Jarvis Street Baptist Church. Our Youthworks staff shared a story about this historic church in downtown Toronto. They asked us why we might think that there are iron fences around all the entrances to the church. After a few moments and a few answers thrown out they simply shared “to keep the homeless out.” You see, there had been a time in the churches history in which the staff of the church would show up in the mornings to discover that homeless men and women had entered into the building to go sleep in the basement. The solution was to install iron fences around all of the entrances to keep people OUT. Really? Church? What is the purpose of THE church? Now, I am not saying that there is an easy solution to this situation. But, what I am questioning is when and how would a CHURCH be about keeping certain people OUT so that certain people could go IN. I know that the heart of God weeps over this. This goes against everything that Jesus taught us in His holy word. Matthew chapter 25 speaks clearly to the reality that what we have done for the least of those among us we have done to and for Him, Jesus. That is the heart of God. To look another human being in the eye and to treat him with dignity, love, and respect, regardless of his or her lot in life. I believe this is one of the biggest challenges of the church today.
Finally, here is another reality. We are talking about an organization that put up fences to keep people OUT. Now I want to ask us as individuals, have you and I put up “fences” as well to keep people OUT? When I reflect on my life I want to please God in everything I do, especially whether I truly love others in the way that He calls me to. Too often I am afraid that we keep people OUT and when we do so, we miss the opportunity to be salt and light. Remember that salt that loses its saltiness is no longer GOOD FOR ANYTHING and is THROWN OUT AND TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT. (Matthew 5:13) Ouch.
My hope and prayer is that the group of students that came to love the marginalized in the city of Toronto understand that. And that they choose to live a life of salt and light and that they please God by doing so. With that said, to God be the glory. Amen.
