Recently a man sat across my desk asking for our program. He had only one eye and very few teeth. He dropped out of high school and is too frail to work as a laborer. He was not disabled and too young for retirement. It was hard for him to participate in the conversation; his mind was poor at thinking.
As we talked I caught myself feeling hopeless about him. This happens to me quite a bit in this ministry. I felt myself getting pulled into his painful circumstance and losing perspective.
The starkness of these frequent realities forces me to revisit what we offer here. Many times, in these interviews, I make reference to a ‘better life’. I use that as a carrot to motivate the person to engage in life change. The common version of a ‘better life’ seemed beyond hope for this man.
What could he hope for in this life?
Is eternity all he could hope for?
Is that all we could help him with?
What difference could Jesus make in this man’s life right now?
We will not likely resolve all the limitations this man has, though we will work hard to do so. If he is willing, however, we may be able to show him how to find a joy that goes beyond circumstances; a joy that will make the rest of his life a higher quality even though his situation may not remarkably improve.
- Aaron Eggers, Men’s Ministries
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1 comment:
I think WSRM should have computers available for the men to use, like they have set up at the Public Library.
There is a lot of hope on the internet, spiritual hope too.
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