The “Undeserving”

I saw a young man by the side of a busy Tyler intersection. Let’s call him Nate. He held a guitar and a sign saying “I Just Need A Little Help.”

Maybe it was his first day on the curb, but he appeared anxious. He shifted his weight back and forth. He avoided eye contact. He looked everywhere but at the people he hoped to persuade.

The driver in front of me tapped his horn and rolled down his window. Nate ran over to him, accepted a cash gift, then hurried back to his post. Then he looked up, and mouthed the words, “thank you.”

In those 30 seconds, a range of emotions.

Judgment: “He should get a job.”

Suspicion: “What if he uses it for drugs?”

Conviction: “How much am I like Nate?”

I have shortcomings, false motives, lazy habits, need I go on? But God loves me anyway.

He loves you, too.

Now, let’s both look up, and say “thank you.”