Kids seemed to be everywhere. It looked like a mini-carnival on the second floor of the church. Games, face painting, tons of candy. It was so loud; you could barely hear the person next to you.
[pullquote type=”left”]When was the last time you threw a party for strippers and their children?[/pullquote] In the midst of the chaos, my supervisor walked over to me and half-jokingly asked me a seemingly simple question.“When was the last time you threw a party for strippers and their children?”
“Oh, you know, not in the last 21 years or so,” I laughed off his question in the moment. But it stuck with me for the rest of the night. It has stuck with me ever since.
[pullquote type=”right”]All too often, I look at someone and assume I know her whole life story.[/pullquote] I wasn’t caught off guard by the sudden realization of whose kids I was playing with. Although, it was the word “strippers” that caused me to pause and think about what he had asked me.Have you ever judged a book by its cover? I do it far more often than I would like to admit. All too often, I look at someone and assume I know her whole life story.
God has been teaching me that everyone has a beautifully crafted life story…and it’s rarely what I think it is.
Yes, some of the women may have left the party to go work in the clubs that night. Others no longer work in the adult entertainment industry, because Jesus, through the work of Scarlet Hope, has provided them a way out. And most are somewhere in between.
[pullquote type=”left”]God has been teaching me that everyone has a beautifully crafted life story…and it’s rarely what I think it is.[/pullquote] That doesn’t really matter, though. Honestly, these women are like me in so many ways. They like to hang out and have fun. They like to feel special. They enjoy a good party.They just have a different job than I do. Nothing more, nothing less.
As the night went on, I listened to stories about their children – like the five-year-old who can already outwit her mom and wants to be a lawyer when she grows up. I avoided being hit by water balloons with these ladies – jumping and running away as the water balloon fight kept getting closer to us. I laughed with them – the deep, real kind of laughs rooted in joy.
These women are some of the strongest, smartest, most beautiful women I have ever met.
[blockquote type=”center”]“When was the last time you threw a party for strippers and their children?”[/blockquote]After some more reflection on the question, the word “strippers” no longer takes me by surprise. Now another word sticks out to me more.
[pullquote type=”left”]I think Jesus would want us to throw parties more often…for the people who don’t normally have parties thrown in their honor.[/pullquote] Party. When was the last time you threw a party for someone you barely knew? Someone the world looks down on? When was the last time these women had a party thrown for them?I think Jesus would want us to throw parties more often. Not for ourselves, not for our friends, but for the people whom don’t normally have parties thrown in their honor.
For the poor. For the prostitutes. For the homeless. For the strippers. For the fatherless. For the criminals.
These are the people Jesus wants us to invite to our tables.
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17 (ESV)
[pullquote type=”right”]We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, showing His love to those we might normally judge by their cover.[/pullquote] We, the Body of Christ, are called to love the people who society deems as “unlovable.” We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, showing His love to those we might normally judge by their cover.Maybe we should focus a little less on the guest list and a little more on the reason for the party.
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