A few years back, we did something unorthodox, something some may consider imprudent.  One late afternoon, we drove past a man walking along the side of the road.  My wife thought she recognized him from a local grocery store.  We stopped to ask him if he needed a ride.  As he got closer to our car, my wife realized that he wasn’t who she thought he was.  We learned that he was without a home.  He was walking to a place over 60 miles away.  We gave him some money for a meal and continued on our way.  Before driving out of his sight, my son, who was eight years old at the time, reminded us that it was cold outside, and asked why we didn’t give him a ride, as we were blessed to have a car.  After giving it careful thought and consideration, we did give him a ride.  We also took him in for the evening, washed his clothes, allowed him to bathe, gave him a few meals and a warm bed in which to sleep.  We spent time talking with him.  We learned about him and had an opportunity to share our faith.  When we dropped him off at his destination the next morning, he hugged us with tears in his eyes, and thanked us for blessing him.  During his stay, he told us that homeless people do not experience the kind of compassion that we expressed towards him, that people are not willing to take someone into their home like we did.  I understand why this is the case.  It is not safe to open your home up to a stranger, to expose your family to risk.  I was even reprimanded for doing this by someone in a men’s group the following Saturday morning.  But isn’t this what missionaries do?  They go to strange places to do things for strangers, in the name of Jesus.  The bible tells us that there will always be those who are poor, that we should open our hands wide to the poor and the needy.  Whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord, and He will repay him.  We are not to neglect to do good and share what we have, as this pleases God.  God loves a cheerful giver.  If we who are blessed see another in need, and close our heart to him, how does God’s love abide in us?