Are we ready?

  I have pretty much grown up in church. I think I probably cut my teeth on a pew. I have heard for years about how God is going to bring revival and people would pour into our churches. I have prayed the prayers right along with fellow Christians that God would bring people from the north, south, east, and west. I have waited and wondered why this hasn't happened on the grand scale that we have believed for. I don't have the answer, but I have had some questions rolling around in my brain....
  I have been privy to some real honest dialog from people I don't know. A man who was sharing about his struggle with a drug addiction stated that he went to a church once. He felt something pulling at his heart. He went forward for prayer and was met with a palm to the forehead and a declaration that "it was over". He thought that seemed easy enough. Then later that same day he set his sheets on fire while he was getting high. Another lady (also struggling with addiction) said that she went to church as a kid and what she learned was that God was good and she was not. He was way up in heaven and out of her reach. She knew she would never measure up, so why try? Yet another young addicted mama with a newborn at her feet told of her recent relapse. She was overwhelmed with guilt, loss, depression, and fear of being alone. She is set to move out of a community shelter into her own housing soon and is terrified to be on her own.
  As I have listened to these humans talk openly about their issues and struggles, I find myself wondering if we as the church are ready..... Are we ready to truly accept these people with open arms knowing their issues? Are we ready to go beyond a Sunday morning prayer and be a friend? Are we ready to let the drunk sleep it off on our couch? To hold back the hair of an addict going through withdrawal while they are vomiting? To drop everything to care for a child whose parent is temporarily incapacitated? To invite them into our home knowing that they just may steal from us? To answer the phone at 2am and really listen to the one who is on the brink of ending it all?
   Don't mishear me...I absolutely believe that God can do miraculous things during Sunday morning services. But I also believe He is calling us to go beyond what we ever thought we were capable of and build His kingdom with bricks and stones made of love. We have heard it said that if you build it, they will come..... Are we ready?