Thought of the Day !!

And the King will say, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me."

                                           Matthew 25:40 (NLT)

William sleeps in a doorway to a downtown building.  He has a sleeping bag and a few blankets and very little else.  The first week I watched a couple bring him some food from inside my truck because I was told that William doesn't do well with crowds.  This week I went with one other and handed him a bowl of chili.  He was nice and said thank you, but little else.  When offered some shoes, he said that he didn't need them even though he'd asked for some before.  Maybe he'd forgotten that he asked for them.  William turned towards the wall and we began to step away.  It was then that we heard him speak.  He said, "Don't you worry who they are. It's none of your business."

It's been said that William spent some time in jail for sexual assault.  It's also been said that he is autistic.  And we witnessed for ourselves the fact that he hears voices.  Yet the only place for him is a doorway in downtown Memphis. 

Many people no doubt walk past William daily with indifference.  If any of them have heard what we have about his sexual assault charges they are probably even scared of him or disgusted by him.  The fact is, we don't know how safe William is because we don't know what the voices in his head might tell him.  But that won't keep us from bringing him food or loving him.

Jesus said that we are blessed when we feed the hungry or care for those in need.  He went as far as to say that when we do this, we do it to Him. 

There might not be anyone in William's life to care for him.  But Jesus loves him and wants him taken care of.  Might you have your own William in your life, someone you may pass by daily or weekly, not wanting to talk to or interact with for whatever reason?  Jesus loves that person as much as He loves you.  And if you care for that person, you will have cared for Jesus Himself. 

In the love of Christ,
greg