At one time an individual had the opportunity to visit some of his friends who lived in a very large city in the United States. Everyone in this circle of friends was a Christian, and these city friends had a rather unorthodox ministry.
They desired to minister to people who for whatever reason or another were on the street, so their weekly ritual was simply to walk up and down a given neighborhood and familiarize themselves with the people that were there. While they were doing this, they would pray for opportunities to witness about Jesus, to minister, or simply just to serve others in some way.
The visitor noticed several interesting things as his friends pointed some things out to him. First of all, walk slowly, they said. Next, walk close to the curb, they advised. Another thing they told him was to make sure to stay out of alleyways that could be dangerous. Finally, they said, be careful to note gang colors to understand gang turf and the like.
The visitor noticed a woman on one of the curbs who was very scantily clad. He asked one of his friends when they were out of her earshot, "Was she a prostitute?"
There was a long, somewhat awkward, pause from this friend.
Finally, he said, "She's not a prostitute...she is a person....caught in prostitution."
Let us remember this day to have a heart for others, just as this group of friends on that night, for the "Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve." (Mark 10:45)
