Serving Jesus With a Bowl of Soup

[intro]Riverview’s Compassion ministry is about sharing with others. We give ourselves and our resources away as a means of sharing our hope of Jesus’ restoration in this broken world. We look for meaningful ways to convey that hope to the vulnerable and despairing – not as heroes reaching down, but as one brother or sister created in the image of God sharing with another. Our mission is to show God’s love to local people in tangible, personal ways. [/intro]

That all sounds great, doesn’t it? But how does it work out in real life? Let’s take a look at a Riv member who lives this concept out on a regular basis.

Cricket’s Story

Our church family is composed of people with all different personality types. Some rush across the church lobby, arms outstretched and practically bouncing because they’re so happy to see you. (I give genuine thanks to Riv’s welcome team that often exudes such enthusiasm, making us all feel like rock stars.) And some are of the calmer sort, like Cricket Lott. If you’re lucky enough to call her a friend, you know she’s faithful, empathetic and sincere.

Several years ago, Cricket found herself growing in a desire to share Jesus. She didn’t know exactly how; but she knew she did not want to spend her time in meetings, discussing ideas about sharing God’s love. She wanted to get her hands dirty. So she joined some other Riv folks in volunteering at a soup kitchen that serves wholesome and tasty food near downtown Lansing—and she loved it!

Time passed, and the person who coordinated Riv volunteers at the soup kitchen stepped down; so Cricket took over. Now she works as a liaison between Christ Lutheran Church (who hosts the soup kitchen on a weekly basis) and Riv. Numerous times each year, Cricket organizes volunteers into a schedule; helps coordinate donations; and oversees the cooking, serving and clean up of a meal.

Cricket has found that the people she serves have the same basic needs as everyone does—to be loved, to be heard, to be acknowledged. And even though interaction with people coming for a meal is often brief, she wishes more people from Riv could experience how simple it is to impact another’s life. There are plenty of opportunities for a smile, a touch on the shoulder, and sometimes a chat. In other words, there are plenty of opportunities to meet those basic human needs.

Serving Jesus

Jesus’ statement in Matthew 25:35 always unnerves me:

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me. (Matt. 25:35-36, 40)

Sometimes, when I read that, I get chills because He didn’t say to serve people because we love Him. Nope. He said that in serving those who have been forgotten by others, we are actually somehow serving Him. Handing Him a glass of water or engaging Him in a game of hopscotch.

And I don’t quite know what to do with that, except to embrace the fact that Christians are called to something deeper than the Golden Rule, which—don’t get me wrong—is important. But there is something even more basic. Our greatest mission is to love God with the entire heart, mind and strength. In other words, every fiber of your being. And by sitting down at an eight foot utility table to share a steamy cup of coffee with a homeless person, or by putting your arm around a lonely friend with special needs—we are somehow loving the God of the universe.

The Compassion team is not an organization. It’s people like Cricket. It’s you and me. And the team’s biggest need isn’t just to find another dollar for the homeless or to start another program for teenage moms. Our greatest need is to find another person who is willing to stand—or sit—alongside another lonely person, offering to share the best we’ve got: Jesus.

The soup kitchen is an excellent place to start “going” in Lansing, and you can even get your kids (10 years or older) involved. Each 45-minute shift consists of set up, clean up, food prep, serving—or a combination of those things. For more info, email [email protected].

Image Credit: Dina-Roberts Wakulczyk