From Stone to Flesh

The Leighton Avenue team singing with neighborhood kids

I realized, this past Sunday as I met with the student leaders of the LAUP teams, that I have been seeing something I've never seen.

As expected, students have been giving themselves to the urban kids and families on their sites, they've been immersing themselves in their readings about God's heart for the poor, they've been embracing the challenge of living on a budget equivalent with their neighbors--they've been faithful to all of their responsibilities--but they haven't let it stop there.  They've elected to go above and beyond.

The Northwest Pasadena team has taken extra time to visit each of the families of the kids in their program and spend time with them.  The Dolores Mission team has decided to spend the night sleeping in the homeless shelter, get up at 4:30 am with the men, and shadow them on foot to experience a day of homelessness.  The Leighton Avenue team hosted a potluck party for the whole block, and had the kids they've been mentoring in the arts present their work in front of everyone.  The Homeboy Industries team has started a weekly "God investigation group" for the recovering gang members to interact over stories of Jesus from the Scripture.  The list goes on and on.

I have never heard of students taking this much initiative to give their whole hearts to the poor in the midst of what's already a rigorous schedule.  This pattern underscores one of the central themes of the summer, found in Ezekiel 36:26:

"A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

The transformation happening before me is nothing less than beautiful.  These students are different than they were one month ago.  Not only are they more full of love for the urban poor, but they are simultaneously becoming more joyful, more hopeful, and are experiencing personal healing.  They're not just surviving a summer in the inner city...for many it's been the most joyful season of their lives.

And yet is it any surprise that making space for the poor in our lives would transform us?  As the summer comes to a close, I am more aware than ever of the omnipresent gravitational pull of our culture to have us focus on ourselves:  for our hearts to harden, for our schedules to fill up, for the poor to drift from our awareness, for our love to shrivel.

The next two days, students will be reflecting on what God convicted them of this summer, and how they will commit to living differently.  As they consider how to use their time, their money, and their education to be good news to the poor, I feel moved to let God speak to me as well.

The LAUP student leaders praying for the end of the summer

The call to remember the poor is throughout the Bible from cover to cover.  As I witness the beauty of seeing hearts of stone become hearts of flesh, it is clear that this exhortation is meant not just to bless the poor, but is for our own spiritual health.

Please join me in praying that God will preserve the transformation that students have experienced, that they will be strengthened to stand by the commitments they make, and that they will be an inspiration to you and I, that we, ourselves, would be responsive to God call to us to live as good news to the poor.