There he was, a broken shell of a man with barely any life left in him.
The streets had been his life for many years, his home. And they had not been kind. There were dark memories, eased only by the solvents on a rag.
Ben had been visiting him for many months; he had come to know him, care for him and love him. Now as he stood next him Ben’s heart was heavy. Today was different, the bomberos (paramedics), had been called and were now here. One of them grabbed the poor man by his T-shirt and began to drag him towards the ambulance.
Ben stopped him, challenging the cruel heavy-handedness and heartlessness of such an action. Could they not see, that this man was completely broken? That he was dying?
Ben stood over his friend, compassion in his heart and eyes. He knelt beside him and wrapped his arms around him. Lifting him up, he carried him in his arms, a man his own age but barely bigger than a child. The love of Jesus displayed in this tender and raw moment, an act of service to the weak, lost and broken.
As the ambulance drove away, Ben stood, frozen and prayed.
Some prayers are a plea for mercy. Mercy came when this broken man left the streets for the last time. No more pain, no more suffering, no more darkness, at least not for him.
