Loving God and Serving Others
The world is full of people who have no place to live and nothing to eat. Alan Graham, CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, has set out to make any difference he can in this sad fact. Driving a truck full of food and clothes throughout his community of Austin, Texas, Alan serves the underprivileged around him. As Alan puts it, he serves others because of God’s relentless pursuit of him. Get a personal look at how one man’s faith impacted the way he lives his life.
Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection
- Does seeing injustice in the world cause you to want to get involved in righting these wrongs? Why or why not?
- The speaker claims that at some point we need to embrace mystery and believe. Do you agree with that? Why or why not?
All right. Heave-hoing. You know, there's an awesome Mother Teresa quote: when we all get to heaven, we're going to owe a great debt of gratitude to the poor for having brought us so close to God. And I really believe in my heart that that's true. It's amazing that here in Austin and really throughout the United States, there are an extraordinary number of people who have no place to live, much less even know what they're going to be able to eat that day. They're living in places that you and I would consider genuinely not habitable, uh, by human beings. Alleyways, weekly rate motels, urban campsites. I really think it's my job to help, uh, fulfill the needs of these brothers and sisters that we find on the streets.
Hey, Alan. How you doing, man?
Darrell, what are you doing, man?
Ah, trying to stay cool.
You doing all right?
We've got hot dogs again tonight.
Come here and give me some love, man.
Hot, hot dogs. You bet.
Good old Al.
What's up, man? Hey, bro.
You serving coffee today?
Yeah, absolutely man. We go out with an abundance of tasty food items in the truck and other things that human beings, uh, really need. The people that are serving, and the people that are being served are on the same side of the serving counter of the truck. It allows for a human connection. It's enough to give you a taste.
It's like Starbucks.
Want some?
Whipped cream, yes.
Ready? You're my friend now, aren't you? Who else wants hot chocolate? When I see people out on the street in need or I witness injustice in our society, there's this innate sense within me to want to go and do something, and I've never met anyone who didn't have that innate sense. And there's no question in my mind that that is God communicating to us to go and do. 35 years ago, I'm in the real estate business, and I spent 25 years really pursuing myself and pursuing money. At best, uh, I was agnostic. I know now all along, uh, as I look back that God was pursuing me. I began to recognize that, and here I am serving others because of God's unrelenting pursuit of me. Food truck's out here. God created man in his image. In his divine image, God created man. When I look at another human being that looks absolutely distressing, instead of being disgusted by that, I'm now open to the beauty that that human being was created in the image of God. I'm looking at that divine creation. I'm looking at God himself. Without any question, there, there's no doubt in my mind that there is a God. At some point in time, we have to transcend from what is not mysterious to those things that are a mystery and just say, "I, I believe. I believe."