"His faith can be understood by a quote he gave at a concert shortly before his death. He stated that: Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me."
Everywhere I turn it's there. And that's the verse that I'm referring to. Matthew 25:40 which says: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' I mean, I am by no means a person who can break down scripture and find deeper meaning. I wish I were but I accept reality. However, I can see where this verse ties into my life. What I mean is this, several times in the last 2-3 years I have been put in a position where I encounter a homeless person or family. And not like I drive by them daily as some of you might or see them walking down the road. But where they're put in my path. As I pull into work there is a homeless family on the corner by my work, I go to the public library to kill time while waiting for my son to get through with school and there is a homeless man sleeping 20 feet away at a table by himself holding a homemade cross, and another when I was working and an older man came in out of the rain and asked for some garbage bags so he and his wife could stay dry. And then there is the call I feel to go into ministry to serve those in Prison and at risk kids. Prison Inmates are those whom society deems "worthless" or "of no use to anyone" and they write them off once they go behind those walls. But they don't stop and think about the fact that man/woman has family, they might have small children struggling to understand why mommy or daddy went away and they can't see them. The inmate could be someone who was struggling to feed their family and did what was necessary to see that happen but in the process made a bad choice of how to do it. My point, while they may have done bad things, there are good people in prison who made bad choices. Don't mistake that for condoning what they did because I don't. But also, put yourself in their place. If your kids haven't eaten in awhile and there's no money to change that the possibility is there to do something drastic to see they're ok. Anyway, I also understand that there are bad people who intentionally hurt others and show no remorse. I don't have an answer for why I want to help them other than I feel that's what I am supposed to do. I honestly think there is good in everyone. Some people have just had hard lives and have put that side of them into hiding and cover it with crime and anger. I'm not saying I'm going to change the world, I'm realistic. But if I can help one person straighten their lives out or keep one Juvenile from going down the wrong road my whole purpose will be fulfilled.
I look at my own kids for inspiration with this journey. They're 7 and twins who are 2 years old. I see how innocent they are. Even if the 7 year old sometimes acts like a demon I can still catch glimpses where his innocence is there. And then you look at inmates. At one point in their lives they were somebody's everything. They were some parents world. They just at some point along the way got lost, made bad choices and simply lost their way. I think the good is still there. It may take some time and work to help them find it but I feel that's what I'm supposed to do.
Anyway, another tangent.. I'm pretty good at that apparently. Back to topic.. Matthew 25:40 is a verse that keeps showing up in my life. I have mentioned this to Jill and she says that maybe it's my "life verse." Life verse? I have heard this term before and don't know if I fully understand it or not. Here is what I found for the definition of a Life Verse..
"What is a life verse? Here is what I recommend you look for when trying to determine a life verse: 1) Your verse should be a verse from the Bible that has meaning to you – maybe it has inspired you in the past, and the like; and 2) You should try to fit yourself to be what your life verse says, not try to fit your verse into your life."
That seems like a pretty legit answer to me and I have heard others around me talk about their life verses.
I had never heard of a life verse before all of this. I mean it's not like when someone would meet you, they would ask your name and then ask a follow-up question of “What’s your life verse?” Then there would be an uncomfortable pause when you knew you were supposed to respond but instead you look at them like a deer in headlights. But what do you do when you don’t have your own life verse and someone asks?
1. Respond with “That is a great verse. I can see why you chose that one.”
2. Change the subject and ask “So, where are you from?” or “What’s your major?” (In a church setting, instead of a college setting, ask about last week’s sermon.)
3. Pretend you have a life verse, preferably one of the more popular ones (John 3:16, John 14:6, Romans 6:23) so that you’ll blend into the crowd and no one will remember.
I mean, maybe if I was ever asked for my favorite verse I could stumbled my way through one. But life verse? I was unprepared for that. So I've stumbled through life without a life verse. I don’t know if anyone knew. Maybe I faked it well enough but most likely not because I'm pretty sure no one has ever asked me about it until Jill mentioned it to me recently. And to be honest the thought of a life verse never really was something I thought about or knew about until now. But it all makes sense to me.
I mean short of God physically hitting me over the head with something I'd have to be pretty dense to not step back and see that maybe this is my life verse. I mean it all adds up. Helping the homeless, wanting to help inmates and those who people deem lost causes. It makes sense to me. These people by society's standards are what they would consider "the least of these." And I don't see them as such.
Do I think everyone should have a life verse? I can't answer that honestly. I wouldn't think so. I mean it's not a requirement for being a good Christian. Your church isn't going to bar the doors when you walk up if you don't have one. And I'm pretty sure God isn't going to be angry with you for not having one either. Some people have favorite verses or scripture. Some people have a verse that falls in line with their life and what they want to do with it. It is what it is.
I'm sorry if this entire blog doesn't make any sense. I'm trying to come to grips with this whole life verse thing and make it make sense to me. And sometimes I do that by rambling on like a blithering idiot which I think I've effectively done here. So know that if this doesn't make sense to you, it does to me.
Anyway, I'm going to wrap this up for now.
Until next time, take a moment and pray for your local police officers. Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the loss of Officer James Bonneau. He was killed in the line of duty on March 9th, 2010. Take a moment and say a prayer for his family. For Officer Darin McIntosh who was present that night and has by the grace of God made a full physical recover and is back making our streets safer. And for those officers in your towns and cities who do all the work while you sleep and enjoy your families and feel safe doing so.
Take Care,
Rob
Police Officer
James David Bonneau
Jackson Police Department, MichiganEnd of Watch: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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