I would like you to meet Bob

Lyric of the day: I get to love You through whatever comes, what a privilege. -Kristene Mueller

Song of the day: Surely We Can Change by David Crowder

Podcast of the day: http://www.redeemerkansascity.org/audio/?sermon_id=89

My thoughts right now revolve around a friend I met yesterday. I would like to introduce you to Bob. He sits in the corner of Farragut West, the metro station at the end of my commute to work. I have seen him several times, curled up in the corner with all that he owns wrapped around him to keep him warm. He sits on a pad made of old newspapers and is found keeping to himself, never begging. Being the station closest to the White House, Farragut West gets a lot of foot traffic. Many important people pass by there. Many people pass by Bob. Dressed in their tailored suits and heels, these professionals have places to go and a world to change.

As I walked out of the station yesterday, I wondered how many people he sees walk by him every day? And with that, how many human exchanges does he get to have each day? Eye contact. A smile. A wave. acknowledgment. Does he get to sit down and have a conversation with a friend like me? Does he get to vent to friends about his struggles, his joys, his life?

My eyes started to tear up as I got off of the escalator. This doesn’t take much for me. But what I knew I was feeling was a compassion for someone I didn’t even know. I walked past Bob hesitantly, looked at the time, and realized I was early to work. I stood there for a second then turned around. Reaching in my back for an extra apple, I leaned over to Bob who was asleep in his corner. Tapping him several times, waking him up, I greeted him. As surprised I am sure he was, he responded. I asked him his name and told him mine. I asked him is he would take my apple and that he did. After some small talk, I said goodbye. I had a new friend. And I was probably more excited than Bob.

Consequently I read in my book about poverty today. And I realized this: that me and Bob are no different. Except that Bob has an advantage over me, in my opinion. He has nothing to show for success in this world. He can’t dress in pretty clothes to impress those around him. He can’t eat at the nicest restaurants to display his social status. He has nothing to prove. Nothing to distract him. Nothing to build up on earth. He has nothing. And we are just the same except we use materials around us to keep us from believing it. We like to deceive ourselves to think that we are ok. More money. More success. More comforts will make us right. Yet we can’t do anything in this world that could earn our righteousness with God. We have nothing to give. Nothing to prove but our selfishness. We use our religion as an attempt to fix ourselves, thus, our problem.

So in many ways I envy Bob. Simplicity is beautiful. It reminds us He is our only hope.

Thanks, Bob. See you soon.