Food Pantry Grace

A woman came to our church recently to see if we had a food pantry. I told her we did, and then gave her our standard form to fill out. When I returned with a few bags of food, this woman told me she didn't see a line on our form to write what her income was. I told her we don't need to know that particular information, and that we mainly want to keep track of who has used our food pantry and how often they are in need of the service.

This woman's comment about the missing "income" line got me thinking about God's grace.

She was simply operating by the procedures that are standard in the world, where we are "qualified" and "disqualified" based on everything from income level, to intellectual ability, to outward appearances. In the world we live in, everything seems like it has to be "earned."

Our church's food pantry doesn't ask for information about a person's income or current job status because that doesn't reflect how God operates. God simply asks us to come...and receive. God's grace works like this: You've made a mess of your life and you realize it; you muster enough faith to pray; you receive grace. I love the thought that our food pantry tries to work this way, too. Maybe you messed up in your life. Maybe you have an addiction that cost you a job. Maybe you're simply a statistic of a struggling economy. Maybe your boyfriend left and you can't afford food for three kids on a single income. Whatever the reason, we don't care. We simply care that you came to ask for help. There's no box to fill in that asks why you are in need of food assistance. We don't want to know your income level. That's not how God's grace works. We just want to offer some tangible form of grace: food. And like God's grace, it's not something you need to earn and it's not something you have to deserve.