He left Elysian Park in Los Angeles drunk…again. A long way from his family in Texas. Disgusted, homeless, and fed up with life. He passed our church, Angelus Temple, on the sidewalk. In a fit of rage he broke a large window of the church as an expression of his pain.

The next morning I got word that our window was busted. Not a surprise when you have a church in the heart of the inner-city.

What happened next surprised me!

The homeless man came a few days later and confessed. He even committed one year to work off his crime. We didn’t ask for it, he wanted too. Suddenly, the same church he vandalized became his home. He decided to check into our recovery home. It was there that he found a new beginning. He graduated our program last Sunday and told his story. Can I tell you that no one cared about the window.
We were blown away by this once homeless man’s courage.

It’s amazing how the lowest point in our life is not always the lowest. Sometimes, it can be a life changing experience. Seeing this man hit a low point only to find his resurrection reminds me why the church exists. The church exists for people at rock bottom. This is why we must always stay faithful, always stay available, and just be there for people.

When people hit their crashing point, the church needs to be there willing to help them pick up the shattered glass of their own lives to find redemption.