Traffic Light Moments

A young homeless woman, I’m guessing in her twenties, was curled up on a backless concrete bench near a busy highway. It was a heartbreaking sight that just screamed that something was terribly wrong.  

She was one of a small band of homeless people who occupied the neighborhood that July day in Springfield. As we pulled into the gas station, we saw three homeless men walking across the parking lot toward Walmart. One had a sizable silver pearl-handled pistol stuffed into his pants. That makes a statement.   

At the gas station, we saw a man holding a large Styrofoam cup. He was positioned at the doorway, and it was obvious why he was there. He was quick to open the door for customers, coming and going. “Can you give me 75 cents?” he asked my wife.  

Homelessness is not unique to Springfield, Missouri. One study from 2022 reported that on any given day over half a million people experience homelessness in the United States.

Even in my tiny Mayberry-like town of around 8000, it’s not unusual to leave the shopping center and occasionally see homeless people with their cardboard pleas. 

“Any amount will help. God bless you.” 

You’ve experienced this scenario: You pull up to the traffic light, and to the side a few yards away is a homeless person. Holding a sign, he stares at you. It’s decision time. You’re forced to respond to him. Maybe you hand him five dollars and drive away. (My friend from church says he makes it a point to have a few dollars in his wallet for times like that.) Or perhaps you simply ignore the disheveled fellow.

How does God want us to respond to the homeless? It’s an important question to ask.    

“I’ll work for food.”  

Let’s talk about another community, a larger band of people. I’ll introduce you to three people from this community.  

One is a needy man who stands at a door, an entrance to success. He too is asking for a handout. Success is sometimes generous to him. Yet, no matter how much success gives him he remains hungry.

Let’s meet another man, a guy with his “shiny revolver.” The revolver represents his cherished material possessions or his accomplishments in life. He yearns for attention; he’s begging for recognition of any kind. However, even when he gets what he wants, he still finds himself lacking. 

Lastly, there’s a woman curled up on a hard surface of nothingness. She seemingly has no real purpose. Today’s routine is the same as yesterday’s.  

You and I encounter people like this often. Maybe we work alongside them, or they live next door. We bump into them at the grocery store; we may even share a home with them. These people are empty inside. Like the gentleman at the traffic light, they are needy.

How will we respond to these souls? It’s easy to ignore them, but is that what God wants?  

May God help us approach today’s interactions with resolved carefulness, and keen awareness that there are people He sends our way who desperately need the fullness that only comes from knowing His Son. 

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).