One of the ‘advantages’ of ministry at the Mission is this: every day there is opportunity to come alongside people who are poor. And though I am not formally trained in theology it does seem God is on the side of the poor in a way that is more intentional than I am or the vast majority of the evangelical church is! Above all, I have come to realize that I understand very little about poverty.
If God is on the side of the poor in a special way, I don't think this 'on the sideness' equates to glorification of them or their plight but rather a specific intention of our Lord to model humility. Pride is insidious. How easy it is for any of us to allow material things to inspire us, give us a sense of worth and importance, and craft our motivations and values. Jesus was locationally born in poverty, chose to 'move in' with us wretched folk via the incarnation, and walked alongside and comfortably moved around with the poor. His very life reminds us of the 'transitoriness' of life built on anything but that which lasts.
Most of my life is lived comfortably apart from those in poverty. In contrast with the life of Christ (What did Jesus do?) my life is most noticeable by little interaction with issues of or people in poverty. My thoughts are seldom consumed by concern for the hurting stranger by the side of the road. Candidly, I don't travel unsafe roads anymore so how can I expect to have issues of poverty force their way into my brain and heart?
-Steve Brubaker, Residential Ministries
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