It has been a long time since we have served as many people as we did today. The size of the crowd was comparable to what we usually see in the summer, not this time of year. The mild weather was certainly part of the reason, but it also seems like there are simply more people in need. The thing that stood out to me, though, wasn’t the crowd or the physical need—it was the depravity, the great spiritual need of so many. This need can only be met by God, and we pray that those we serve will desire His life-changing gift of salvation more than they desire jobs, homes, material possessions, relationships, and the list could go on.

This morning, I had a heartbreaking conversation with a young man who is looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places—drugs, alcohol, women, etc. He told me he needs money to take a girl out on a date because he eventually wants to get married. Never mind that he doesn’t have a job or a place to live and continues to get in fights. I shared with him that the only thing that true fulfillment only comes through Christ—that’s it—the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter. We talked about how we are all born into sin and need a Rescuer. This man wants his life to change magically, but it doesn’t work that way. True change only comes through Christ, and I am praying that he will seek after God’s grace with the fervor in which he is seeking a relationship and his next high. We have this same conversation almost every week, and I’m pretty sure he tunes me out when I talk about Christ. But I’m not discouraged—God doesn’t need me or my words to do a great work in this man’s heart—He is the sovereign God of the universe! However He does command me to pray and that is what I do, for this man and all who we meet in Linn Park.