He didn’t even lift his head.

As I squatted down next to him and tried to speak kind words, he heard a slight jingle and slowly opened his hand and pointed it upward. The coins that dropped into his grasp, one of them falling to the ground, didn’t even total a dollar, but it was more than he had seen all day.

Then, I slipped a pamphlet out of my pocket and into his hand. “Good news,” I told him. “Maybe a friend can read this to you. It’s a message from the Bible and from a God that loves you.”

He barely acknowledged me.

The smell of alcohol was so strong. Local businesspeople sneered as they looked on with disgust. Why would I waste such a thing? The money, yes, would probably be used for something that would worsen his situation. I wasn’t sure how he would respond, but I couldn’t just walk by. The fact is, I had already walked by several just like him.

People walked by him all day. Hoards of people walked by him. It’s so easy to write this man off as just another waste of space in our society.

But, how long had he been sitting here?

Where does he call home?

Has he been like this his whole life?

How did this situation start?

What does he live for?

Doesn’t he have anybody that loves him?

Family?

Friends?

Fellow citizens?

…Me?

These questions filled my mind all day and my heart has been broken. Tears swell up in my eyes even as I write.

The truth is, people are desperate. It might not always manifest itself like it did in this man’s life, but people have no hope.

They need hope.

We all need hope. We have a void that must be filled.

Some fill that void with religion, but its hope is empty.

Some fill that void with possessions, but its hope is empty.

Some fill that void with bodily pleasure, but its hope is empty.

And some give up. The void remains empty. There is no hope. Why even try?

But Christ, through his mercy, gives us a perfect hope. I love Romans 15:13 that says:

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

That’s what makes us different. That’s why we can have hope. It’s because our hope comes from the God of hope.

And we keep it to ourselves?

What about the rest of the world?

Are we going to hoard our hope, when Christ died for all?

Our hearts have been broken here. I have been begging God to show me how to best make a difference in this country and in the world. I need his help.

Courage to speak.

Guts to act.

Willingness to be used.

Our hearts are broken.

Is yours?