My son, Pastor Eric, wrote this four years ago.

A Drunk Man in the Street

"A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground." -Mark 9:17-18

I was heading to the Union Gospel Mission last Thursday night, running late and I came upon a sight that seemed to be ripped right out of my sermon passage.
I was heading down a side street, it was still heavy with snow and I saw ahead of me a man pushing a shopping cart and pulling a small dog on a leash.
He was having difficulty navigating the snow and ice ruts.

It was dark and my headlights illuminated him as I was approaching and he was in the middle of the road.
I knew he was not going to be able to move in time, so I decided to turn left and go around the block to give him space.
As I got near, I noticed he appeared to be drunk and was really struggling with the cart, his dog and his inebriation.
As I was starting to turn, he stumbled to his knees, still grasping the cart.
As my lights moved across him, I could notice him leaning over, it looked like he was puking or something and he had pissed his pants.

It seemed as if all time stopped as my lights exposed his humiliating, dire straights.
It was a snapshot of how the enemy of our souls and the depths of our sin lead us to be ‘thrown to the ground”.

I drove past him, which to some might seem cold and calloused, and it may be, but it is not an irregular site in my life and ministry.
It’s part of the hood I pastor in
and I was heading to preach and minister to a room full of men who could stand in for that man. My compassion was there, I saw him.
I marked the moment in my heart and mind, his suffering was not missed by me, I just didn’t stop but I used the sight to fuel the pathos in my work that night to compel men to come to Jesus. That might be a weak response to the situation, but it was all I had for it.

I have living lessons being played out in front of me all the time, some I am up to the task to engage, others are beyond me or my willingness to act but I try not to dismiss them. They are icons of heaven and hell for me and through them, I touch others and am touched by others.

After the evening service and all the preaching, prayer and ministry to men,
I left having seen Jesus do His work in many men’s lives.
The end of the Mark passage came to pass, just as real as the first part I had witnessed on the streets ---

“The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.” -Mark 9:26-27

Praise Jesus! He is still ‘Taking men by the hand and lifting them to their feet’
and empowering them to ‘stand up’. I pray it will be so for that man too.