MAY I HELP YOU?

Laura and I visited a wonderful Christian sister in the hospital the other day.  As we were leaving the hospital we were stopped at an extremely busy intersection. While sitting there we noticed a car stopped in the middle of the road on the other side of the highway. We could see an elderly lady in the car and she had her head bowed down. We decided to try to help, so I jumped out to see if we could help and Laura crawled over to the driver’s side and went down the street to turn around.  When I got out of the car it started raining. I waited for traffic to clear up, walked over to her car, tapped on her window and said, “Ma'am, are you alright? Is there any way I can help you?”  She rolled the window down and said, “No thank you, I’m just waiting for  someone to come out of the IHOP across the street!  But thank you very much and God bless you.”  I said, “ma'am, maybe you should pull out of the middle of the road into the parking lot.” She said, “Oh, thank you, that’s a good idea!”  To say the least, I was not thrilled about standing in the rain as I waited for Laura to find a convenient place to turn around. However, if we would have continued driving and not stopped to try to help I would have felt really bad.  Next time I see a stalled car with a little old lady I will stop again, even if nothing is wrong.  

In our world, it is so easy to refuse to help others. It is easy to keep driving. It is easy to walk by on the other side of the road (Luke 10).  However, if we want to be true servants of Christ we must be willing to stop and help others.  Jesus often stopped along the way to help others. He showed us the true meaning of service when He washed His disciple’s feet (John 13).  We have opportunities every day to show Jesus to people in the world around us.  We are the eyes of Jesus to look for those who are hurting. We are the arms of Jesus to reach out to the down trodden.  We are the hands of Jesus to lift up those who have fallen. We are the feet of Jesus to take the Gospel to those who have not heard.  

We must be willing to help others in a physical way, just as our Savior did (Matthew 11:5). Luke reports to us that Jesus went everywhere doing good for others (Acts 10:38).  As His disciples we also should do good for as many as we can, as often as we can, as much as we can.  But let us never forget that the primary purpose for Christ coming to the earth was so seek and save all of us who were lost (Luke 19:10). In our doing good for others, let’s be certain that we do not forget to tell them about the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).  

Dear God, help us to reach out to others and do as much good as we can. Please help us to be have the mind and heart of Jesus. Help us tell as many people as possible the Good News that Jesus takes away sins.