I frequently drive through a section of Vancouver called East Hastings. It's an infamous place full of hundreds of people who are homeless, addicted to drugs and in prostitution. It's a despairing place. It's also happens to be the location of the controversial heroine clean needle injection site, because so many here are addicted to heroine, and having little regard for their own safety, will reuse dirty needles they find on the streets.

One day, when I first moved here, I recall driving through this section and feeling hopeless for the people who lived here. I always believed that God could redeem anybody and God could bring hope to any situation, but seeing this site truly challenged that abiding belief.

In my moment of existential crisis, I asked God, even if these people were saved, many of them, especially the prostitutes, have HIV/AIDS and would only have a few years to live anyway. I wrestled with God. I knew that getting saved, even at the last minute, is infinitely better than never being saved at all. But my mind couldn't get away from the fact that even if they did get saved, how could they have joy and hope knowing that they wasted most of their lives away and had only a few more years to live due to HIV/AIDS.

East Hastings is an interesting spot in Downtown Vancouver because as you drive through this decrepit section, you'll all of a sudden run straight into the wealthy financial district of Vancouver. A single block of building separates these two sections on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum.

As I hit the financial district, which never ceases to stun me, God spoke to my heart about the people I concluded as hopeless. He said, "if that prostitute with HIV/AIDS and 3 more years to live gives her life over to me, I will cause her last 3 years to be worth infinitely more than these rich men who live 80 years living for themselves. If they surrender their lives to me, when they stand before the Throne, they will hear 'well done good and faithful servant'."

Then I realized that many waste the years they have on this earth denying their eternal purpose to live for themselves. I looked at my own life and asked whether I was giving my years to the Lordship of Jesus, or was I wasting it away living for myself.

I recently met with a group of HIV/AIDS patients in Africa that had the courage to live with purpose in the remaining years of their lives. Some looked healthy, as if they would live for another 20 years. Others looked wasted away. But all had a fire in their eyes to advocate for the HIV/AIDS community and to do whatever they can to prevent it's spread so as to save others from their own fate.

They all know that their days and years are numbered. In so doing, they understood and acknowledged something that is true of us all. For them, time was coming to an end and they were sold out to help as many people as they could in their short time here.

When they see the Great White Throne, all their sins will be completely forgiven. They will be covered with a robe of righteousness and a mansion with their names on the placards of the doors. Then, having their past erased, they will hear their Creator say, 'well done, good and faithful servant. come share in your Master's happiness'. Then the righteous Judge will show them the full impact of what they did on Earth, and the countless numbers of people they helped in their short remaining years of their lives. Then they will bow down at His feet, in speechless gratitude for the grace and redemption that was afforded to them with lavish generosity.

So let's look at some of the ministry implications of having a hopeful view of those already afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

1) Plainly: HIV/AIDS patients are worth investing in to minster to. This seems obvious and to even imply the opposite seems barbaric and unchristian. But the truth is, ministries look at long term sustainability and want positive outcomes just like any other organization. This kind of perspective keeps many ministries and non-profit organizations from working with HIV/AIDS patients. This also diminishes the public's desire to support such work. But when we have the view that if these HIV/AIDS patients are affected by the Gospel of eternal life and that once they see this Gospel they will spend the rest of their lives producing fruit for the Gospel, ministries might look at ministering to HIV/AIDS patients a little differently. In a world of secularism and worldly living, of people storing up for themselves treasures on earth that perishes, having an army of HIV/AIDS patients who no longer have an obvious incentive to store up earthly treasures would make an incredible impact in this world. I'm not saying those not facing terminal illness can't have that perspective. I'm just saying it's an automatic for those with HIV/AIDS.

2) Ministries shouldn't just try to minster to the immediate physical needs of HIV/AIDS patients. But in addition, should attempt to mobilize them for the Gospel. Last words of a dying man has more weight than the ramblings of the healthy and wealthy. HIV/AIDS patients have the potential to be one of the most effective ministers and proclaimers of the Gospel in the world. Ministries should minster to their needs as a matter of course. But ministries should not limit the vision of ministering to them to meeting their immediate needs. Ministries should look beyond to encourage, inspire and equip HIV/AIDS patients to become ministers of the Gospel.

3) HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa, is not just a medical issues, it's a cultural and social issue that must be dealt with at that level. Customs and mindsets need to change in order for HIV/AIDS to be diminished in Africa. Those customs and mindsets are so ingrained that it's impenetrable in trying to change the course of the HIV/AIDS issue. Social stigmas about HIV/AIDS abound in Africa, making it very difficult to educate people effectively and to get them to change their behavior. The strongest spokespeople for the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Africa will be the HIV/AIDS patients themselves. They have the most credibility and they will be given the platform and the ear of local Africans. An HIV/AIDS patient in Africa may be able to impact a community far more than just another humanitarian or UN aid worker.