Monday, March 09, 2015

Bread of Life

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

One of our food pantry clients noticed a stack of booklets with Bible verses and asked if she could have one. A couple of other clients heard and, likewise, asked for a booklet. Then they asked if I would bless the booklets. It was a God moment that allowed me to pray over these ladies and listen to concerns about family members who needed to be touched by Jesus.

They are, also, part of the crowd that gathers on Wednesday nights for our free community dinner. The gathering of such a diverse group is a picture of the banquet God has prepared for us. The people who were part of the “in crowd” had better things to do than attend the banquet, so the master invited the poor and the disabled. He wanted his house to be full.

Wednesday nights are filled with people who are hungry for nourishment; hungry for fellowship; hungry for God. Last month we baptized a person we met through our hunger ministry. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” (John 6:35)

Muriel Persky lives the gospel as the hands and feet of Jesus. She works in our thrift store and teaches the Bible to women in a job readiness program (Christian Women's Job Corps). Last week, during her Bible study, one of the women declared that she wanted to be a follower of Jesus.

The gospel is good news! Whenever we serve people on the margins of society, we are serving Jesus Christ.