# 7c – A Story of Homelessness and of Faith that Purifies the Heart (Part 3 of 3)

2) Help others do the works of faith

Today, we engage in high levels of frustration and anger over disputes aggravated by a sense of justice gone wrong. We feel strong emotions of betrayal accompanied by a sense that we have the “right” to see justice done. Fine. But these demands so often fall upon deaf ears—and in most cases go unsatisfied. So, what recourse is there?

Christians, who are conscious of God, are called to bear up under the pain of unjust suffering (1 Peter 2:19, 21 NIV). Christ is our example. He too had “rights”, which he chose not to exercise; instead, he entrusted them to God—for care or for action (1 Peter 2:21-23 NIV).

After I became homeless, I learned that today’s atmosphere of disputes and disagreements are opportunities for a rare type of faith to flourish. If we are sick at heart over our present situation, if our heart is heavy or angry, if we let our heart give up in the face of prolonged suffering, then we need the faith that purifies hearts (Acts 15:9).

First, we refrain from making a distinction between “us” and “them”. Second, we trust God, who makes no such distinction because he knows the hearts of “us” and “them”. Third, then God purifies the hearts of “us” by faith, which ultimately heals the sickness within. And fourth, if God chooses to remove “them” from their position of power because their heart resists every opportunity to do good—then that is God’s business.

Ours is to love.

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Scriptures from King James Version of the bible and New International Version (NIV).