One day a new face appeared in the serving line at the Food Counter looking for a hot meal. This was nothing new because new people would come by almost daily looking for a free meal. We saw many different people come and go at the Kitchen. There were the regulars, and then there were the homeless people who were just passing through town headed for Florida or some other unknown destination. However, this new man caught my eye immediately. I found out later he had just arrived from Michigan.
He really didn’t look much different than any of the others standing in line. His hair was somewhat long and looked as though it had not been combed in several days. He looked to be in his mid-forties. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled as if he had slept in them for many nights. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in several days. His eyes were bloodshot, sunken and dull. He appeared to be socially and mentally withdrawn from the rest of the people who were there.
It was not the clothes he wore or his unkempt appearance that drew my attention to him. It was the look in his eyes and his overall demeanor which touched something deep within me. I felt more compassion for him than I had for some of the other homeless people who came daily for a hot meal. Maybe the Lord had singled him out to me so I would pray more for him than I did for some of the others. It was apparent to me that he needed much prayer. He seemed so lonely, destitute and out of touch with reality.
There were many homeless people who came to eat at the Church at mealtime. I knew they were not all coming for the sermon they thought they were expected to listen to before the meal was served. No, it was not a requirement that they had to listen to the preaching before they had a chance to fill their empty stomachs. However, I think many of them thought it was required that they sit and listen to a sermon before they ate. Some of them would just stand around outside the Church Building and wait until the preaching was over before coming downstairs to the dining area. In the winter, however, when it was too cold to stand around outside the Church, more of them would come in and sit down before and during the sermon.
After everyone finished with their meal, some of them would ask for prayer. Others were not interested in prayer, or in anything you had to say to them. Some would eat hastily and leave immediately. All they came for was a hot meal and that is all they received.
Everyone had a sad story as to why they were living on the streets. There were some who came that did not live on the streets who just came in for a free meal. Others were there because they could not afford to buy food but they seemed to me to be almost as destitute as the homeless ones. Not all of them who came for the daily meal were homeless, but they all were looking for a hot meal and a place to rest for a while.
Young mothers would come in with their children. You could tell they were desperately in need of help because of the way they were dressed. To me the children were the most pitiful of them all. Some of them had dirty little faces and their clothes were inadequate and dirty, wrinkled, torn and old. The children were totally helpless and could not fend for themselves. Their little faces would always light up when they were given a sweet treat after the meal or a place to sleep that night. The homeless could stay nights at the City Shelter for two weeks. After two weeks they were expected to find another place to sleep. After another two weeks passed, they were able to renew the cycle and start over again.
After the meal was served we would hand out groceries to those who had homes or a place where they could store a small amount of food. There were always snacks which had been donated to the Church by a local bakery for people to take along with them when they left. Most of the people living on the street had no place to keep or store food without it spoiling. Others, after they had eaten, would often help the volunteers fold up the tables and chairs and stack them along the wall in the basement.
A HOPELESS VAGABOND
The Lord taught me many things from my experience working with the poor and homeless people. I will never forget those lessons Jesus taught me while I worked in that Kitchen. I can still remember the look on the faces of the people as they stared down at the food being placed on their plates as they came through the line. I often wondered if they would be somewhere the next day where they could get a free meal and a place to sleep.
One day while working in the kitchen I had an unusual experience. I had cooked up a good meal for the people that day. Suddenly, I heard something rattling like metal clanging against metal. I turned to look at the people in line who were being served by the other volunteers. A man was standing there with the shakes so bad his spoon and fork were clattering against the metal plate he was holding in his hand. It was the Michigan Vagabond. He was shaking so badly he was unable to hold his plate still. Alcoholics will sometimes shake uncontrollably when they need a drink.
The sound of the clanging seemed to echo throughout the basement Cafeteria like a tingling cymbal. There were times when some of the people who came to eat could not hold their plates long enough to get their food back to the table. Sometimes their food would end up on the floor, and we would fix them another plate. At times we would have them sit down at a table and we would take their plates to them.
When I walked into my house later that day, I fell immediately on the floor in our living room and wept uncontrollably for at least an hour. I could not hold back any longer. All I could think about was the man with the shakes and the sound the silverware made clanging against the metal plate. I could not get the dirty faces of the little children out of my mind. They are ever before me. I can never erase the images of those poor and destitute people from my mind. I had never gone without a meal in my life unless I was fasting. I had never been homeless. I had never seen or experienced poverty and destitution like these people were experiencing.
I made it a point to talk with the man who had the shakes and tried to show him the love of Christ. I wanted to help him in any way I could. He told me he was from Michigan. He said he had raised a family there and had some problems with his wife. He told me they were no longer together. He didn’t say why they were no longer together, but I could not help but think the problems they had were due directly to his alcoholism.
After a few weeks had passed, the Michigan man told me he had gotten a job as a Cook at one of the fast food restaurants in town. He told me he had rented a room in a sleazy Motel a few blocks from the Church and was trying to save up enough money to buy a car. He told me he was trying to get back on his feet. Sometimes I would drive him back to the Motel after I finished my work at the Kitchen and would always share the Love of Christ with him as I drove him home. Sometimes we would sit in my car and talk for a long while.
One day as I was working in the Kitchen I noticed him sitting in the Cafeteria with a very sad countenance on his face. He looked very distraught. Immediately I inquired as to what his problem might be. He told me someone had broken into his Motel room and stolen all the money he had been saving to buy a car and insurance. His wallet with his driver’s license was also missing. He was totally devastated, to say the least. I didn’t know what to say to him, words escaped me. I had tried to show him the Love of Christ and tell him how much God loved him and would help him get his life straightened out, but now this tragedy had happened to him. I didn’t know what to say or do for him. Nothing I said made any difference to him. His spirit was broken. Everything I said to him fell on deaf ears.
After a few days he never came back to the kitchen, and I did not see him again. I thought about what a tragedy had befallen him. Here was a man who was trying to get his life back on track and someone had stolen all the hope he had in this World. It was only money, but to him this was more than money, it was his life. It was to be his path back to some normalcy in life. Satan had destroyed his hope, his plans and his future. He had worked hard in hopes that he could get away from his life of destitution and regret. Now, Satan had succeeded in destroying his life again. All his hope was gone. He just sat there motionless with a blank stare on his face.
That tragedy happened fifteen years ago. To this day I still wonder what became of the Michigan VAGABOND.
VAGABOND DON
I grew up in Michigan, and at one time I became a Michigan VAGABOND myself. No, I was never homeless. Yes, I was bound by the Curse of Alcohol. Alcohol was destroying my life. I spent time in an Alcoholic Ward at a Hospital in Garden City, Michigan. Two days after I was released from the hospital I found myself drinking at a bar in downtown Detroit. I had been unable to shake the alcohol which had gained a great hold on my life.
My Father was a Minister and I was raised in a Christian home. I had received Christ as my Savior as a child. However, these things do not preclude anyone from being tempted and falling prey to the Devil. Satan is constantly seeking to devour and destroy the life of every person on this earth. Being a Christian does not exempt one from the subtle schemes and fiery darts of the Devil. As a matter of fact, it makes the Devil more intent in his efforts to destroy your life.
I took my first drink of alcohol at the age of fourteen. By the time I reached the age of seventeen, I was drinking heavily and taking drugs. On my eighteenth birthday I was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. At the age of twenty one I was a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of twenty six I found myself serving time in Prison because of things I did when I was drunk. I lost everything I owned physically. I was heading down a path toward total destruction.
The Bible says: HEAR YOU, MY SON, AND BE WISE, AND GUIDE YOUR HEART IN THE WAY. BE NOT AMONG WINEBIBBERS, AMONG RIOTOUS EATERS OF FLESH. FOR THE DRUNKARD AND THE GLUTTON SHALL COME TO POVERTY: AND DROWSINESS SHALL CLOTHE A MAN WITH RAGE. Proverbs, Chapter 23, Verses 19-21.
Worse than being a drunkard, I had become a Spiritual Vagabond and I was lost and undone without Christ. Like the Prodigal Son I had walked away from my Heavenly Father and began to live a life of sin and degradation. Thankfully, later in my life I came to my senses and returned to the Jesus I had known as a child. I realized He had been patiently waiting for me to return, like the father who was waiting for the Prodigal Son. I was like the Prodigal Son who had left his home and the father who loved him dearly. His father waited patiently for him to return from his WANDERING WAYS. Jesus is patiently waiting for ALL the PRODIGALS to come to their senses and return unto Him without any condemnation.
A spiritual VAGABOND is one who is spiritually homeless with no spiritual direction. After WANDERING here on earth, the VAGABOND is destined to Hell and the Lake of Fire which was originally created for the Devil and his angels. The VAGABOND’S condition is worse than that of an Alcoholic. He is spiritually destitute and without hope for the future unless he receives Christ as his Savior. A spiritual VAGABOND wanders the Earth seeking rest and contentment, but will never find them unless he finds the TRUTH found only in Jesus Christ.
TRUTH can only be found in what took place on a lonely hill called outside of Jerusalem Golgotha approximately Two Thousand Years ago. On Mount Calvary Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified in order that all Spiritual VAGABONDS could find a sense of direction, peace and rest for their weary, wandering souls. Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day by the power of the Holy Spirit so that all who would believe in Him could live and find that peace and rest for their WANDERING souls.
BRETHREN, IF ANY OF YOU DO ERR FROM THE TRUTH AND ONE CONVERT HIM LET HIM KNOW, THAT HE WHICH CONVERTS THE SINNER FROM THE ERROR OF HIS WAY SHALL SAVE A SOUL FROM DEATH, AND SHALL HIDE A MULTITUDE OF SINS. James, Chapter 5, Verses 19-20.
The word “err” is derived from the Greek word which means “wandered.” At one time or another all of us have or will wander or err from the TRUTH and come short of the GLORY OF GOD. Repenting AND TURNING AWAY from dead works to Christ will change our spiritual direction, and we can once again travel the Path of Righteousness toward ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST.
FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23.
It is inherent that everyone on Earth is born in sin and will remain in sin until and unless they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. None of us are perfect. None of us have lived a sinless life. We are all born in sin. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. Only Christ is perfect and only He can save us from our sins. We are all under the judgment of the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH unless we repent of our sins and live a life of dedication to Christ. We must PICK UP OUR CROSS DAILY and follow after Him.