Homeless-Ness.....

I was driving around and started to notice the different people walking up and down the street. People I will probably never get a chance to talk to. People who need Christ! Homeless men and women...children, we see them on the side of the road...we roll up our windows and lock the doors. We say,"if I give them money, they'll probably buy drugs or booze with it...I'm not doing it." Then we never think about it again.
Last week while in traffic, on the ramp getting ready to cross the George Washington Bridge, my cousin and I saw a homeless man on the side of the road. He had a red jacket on, was almost pink from being so faded and dirty. He had a kitten, he made sure that kitten was eating whatever it was in his hand. The sign he held said,"homeless, and have aids.. please help me" I thought about the money in my pocket and the snacks we just purchased in the back seat. I snatched up the huge bag of Dorito Muchies we were excited to buy, rolled down my window and said,"I have these chips...is that ok?" "He smiled and said,"that sure is!" The cat was still eating whatever he had given it. He smiled and opened the bag as he spoke a few words I couldn't hear since I had driven past him. Most of the way to N.C. that night, I thought about how I could have shared the Gospel with that guy. How if I could have done something more to know why he ended up homeless and I was safe in my car.
I still see homeless people all over this place, but understand that some just don't want the help. Others really want it, but people have turned their backs, put them down, or made them feel like they wouldn't accomplish much. We don't have to do it with words. We do it with the way we act towards or look at them.
I am still thinking about the man on the G.W. ramp. I pray for him. I ask myself though...,"Am I willing to go back and see if he's there?" I haven't gone back yet and that's a problem I think.
As Christians it should be our prayer to not only reach those in other countries, but in our very own. We pass them on the street. We walk over them while they sleep. We do nothing about it most times. They are children of God too, but they can't see past what they are trying to bury deep inside.
The next big question is, when and where do we begin?