Thoughts from the subway

On my way home last night, I got into the subway and sat down, tired from a long day. Across from me was a man who, when he realized it was a stop, stumbled up out of his seat, got stuck between the closing doors, then stumbled out of them and went on his way. There were a few things about him that made my thoughts linger on him a bit. First of all, he stunk. I mean, STUNK. His stench lingered longer than my thoughts in the subway car. He was dirty, too. Like Pigpen (from Charlie Brown), there was a cloud of dirt left behind on the seat. He was barefoot and his feet were so dirty you could barely see the flesh underneath. And who knows if he had substance abuse problems. All I know is that I had never smelled anybody so putrid in my life. And all I could think was, Jesus loves this man. If Jesus was sitting on this train right now, he would not be grossed out by this man's stench and filth. He would reach out to him, heal him, love him. This person, who is unlovable to all of us, is loved. What a God we have.