Christmas Devotion - Final
Today's devotional is written by John-Mark Echols, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at The Field's Edge.
Day 12 by John-Mark Echols
“Why don’t they just go get a job? They just want to be homeless.” I’ve heard these things many times over the years, but I used to say them too. I have yet to meet anyone more ignorant of homelessness than I used to be. I grew up about as far removed from the plight of the homeless as possible. In fact, I was surprised when I found out that Midland actually had homeless people at all. I didn’t understand and I lacked compassion, but that began to change when my heart was opened to the Gospel when I was 23.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4-5
Before I trusted in Jesus, I may have been materially wealthy but I was relationally and spiritually bankrupt…dead in my sin like it says in Ephesians 2. I considered myself a moral person, but the reality was that my good works would never be enough to overcome my spiritual condition. I might have looked like I had it together on the outside. I had a college education, a good job, and a house, but inside I was empty. The change began because a faithful family invited me to church while I was at the swimming pool. After a few weeks, I reluctantly accepted their invitation and began to study the Bible. The Scriptures which I had been around all my life suddenly made sense and the Lord breathed life into me. By grace, I was given a new heart and made alive together with Christ. The question I then had to answer was, made alive for what? I wanted to live my life in gratitude for what He had done for me.
Briana, the beautiful and interesting girl in my new Sunday school class (who would later become my wife and Co-Founder of The Field’s Edge) was who the Lord used to expose my newly transformed heart to the homeless. Still hesitant and skeptical, I went to a street church with her to serve. I wasn’t sure how to talk to homeless people, so I brought my dog, Waylon, as an icebreaker. I figured that a fluffy puppy would help me overcome the awkwardness of being around people I had no idea how to relate to.
At first, I thought I knew exactly what these folks needed to do…just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and stop being homeless, the sky’s the limit in Midland, Texas you know! In reality, I was clueless. I first had to learn that Jesus humbled himself and washed the feet of people whom He created. If I wanted to follow Him, I had to humble myself too. When I did, I was able to see that the homeless had no bootstraps, if they even had boots. I learned that the root of their homelessness was not material, but it was a poverty of relationships. At the bottom of everyone’s story was that something catastrophic had occurred in their lives and they had nobody to fall back on for help. I am still learning every day that what my homeless friends need more than anything else are reconciled relationships: with God, with themselves, with others, and with all of creation. I need all of those things too!
Community is the game-changer. It’s the way that the salt and light of Christ are shared with the dark and flavorless world around us. How can we love and serve those we do not actually know? We can’t. How can any of us make it through life alone? We aren’t meant to! We have all been created in the image of God that we might reflect His image back to one another. We were made to glorify Him in community! The body of Christ.
What The Field’s Edge is doing goes beyond the beautiful 23-acre master-planned tiny home community that by the grace of God will soon be built in southwest Midland. The mission of The Field’s Edge is “to promote human dignity by cultivating home for the homeless and empowering a lifestyle of service for the glory of Christ.” The village is only the place where our mission will be carried out. We want to unearth and illuminate the dignity that has already been imparted by God and live out the Gospel alongside our brothers and sisters. We want to remind all people what it means to be a neighbor. I know one thing for sure: home is not four walls and a roof. Home is where we are fully known and fully loved. So, whether you live on the street or in a subdivision, my prayer is that you will truly know what it means to be home.
Lord, you humbled yourself to save us. You didn’t just see us in our sin and leave us there, but you brought yourself low and lifted us up by grace. We want to bear witness to your love with our lives. Help us to humble ourselves and to build deep relationships with our neighbors. We want to bring you glory by loving You and loving each other like you’ve created us to do. Give us the grace to cultivate home wherever we go.