Poverty In America

So I am on my fourth week and God has already "opened my eyes" to so much....I am driving between four different states this summer and they are all in urban communities. I have witnessed poverty and hope all at the same time. My staff has been doing an AMAZING job at leading all these youth to step out of their comfort zones and truly live the gospel, by serving these communities in so many ways such as; cleaning out old buildings, working with senior citizens, working in gardens, playing with kids, and so much more.

One of the things that my heart has been broken by is once again my frustration with poverty, I know that in Gods word he says that the poor will always be with us (Mark 14:7), but why? I mean we have such large resources for people to get help, why do we still have poverty. I have eaten at several soup kitchens these past couple weeks, and it has made me truly step back and thank God for the food and wealth that I have. I know that there are many reasons why people are homeless, or are scraping by, but I still ask the question why? Is it because of pride, is it because of lack of family, is it because of ignorance? I do know this that I could sit around a coffee table and talk to my friends about theological issues, I could sit and talk about why the "church" is so imperfect, but that would not solve anything.

Here is my challenge for the Body of Believers...when the "Church" is willing to eat together (even if it’s in a soup kitchen), listen and tell the truth to one another, clean together, peal potatoes together, this is when the Gospel comes alive not in our debating!