God calls us to help

I once picked up a hitchhiker.

I was driving back from Lexington, Ky, along a stretch of road known as the Mount Parkway, toward Pikeville. On that road, about 2/3rds of the way back, you reach what is really the last real stop for about an hour.  Near the location of the Natural Bridge State Park is a welcome center and rest area, and it routinely became my stop on that trip.

This trip was no different.

After a long day in Lexington by myself doing hospital visits, I was on my way home.  I stopped in a rest area to make my final pit stop for the day and as I exited the restroom, a seedy looking man approached me.

"Hey, are you going to Prestonsburg?" he asked.

Prestonsburg as at the end of the Parkway, and it was on my way home to Pikeville.  I'm a minister, on my way back from ministry visits, and without my family as an excuse.  As much as my sense of fear gnawed at me, I really had nothing else to say.

"Yes," came my begrudging reply.

"Can I catch a ride with you?" he immediately responded. "I'm trying to get to my girlfriend's house in Prestonsburg."

Feeling convicted, I agreed to take the guy where he wanted.  We drove the hour or so to Prestonsburg, along some places with no cell phone service and pretty remote places to stash a body.  But we made it safe and sound. We talked about a variety of subjects, including salvation and church.  He didn't kill me or maim me or rob me or hurt me. He just needed a ride.

Why are we so reluctant to help?  It's a good question, yet it's one we, as Christians, struggle to comprehend.  We see scripture about visiting the sick and the poor and the prisoners. We hear Jesus's words to love your neighbor.  Yet, often we are too busy, too preoccupied or simply too scared to really help.

In Jeremiah 38, Jeremiah is in trouble.  He's in a pit.  He needs rescued.  An Ethiopian eunuch, a man rejected by society and a servant of the king, offers to rescue to prophet from a pit.  He helped when no one else, including the governmental authorities, would. In doing so, he gives us a model.

We are to help the less fortunate, the homeless, the sick, the prisoners and yes, even the refugees.  I know that's not a popular thing to say, but it is true nonetheless.  We, as believers, must reach out to those who are in the most need.  If Jesus were here, he would reach out to them and he would admonish us, as churches, for not doing the same.

You see, we have a very poor track record of helping. We like to throw a lot of money at problems, even a Bible verse or two, but we often don't respond personally when help is needed.  We must serve because God is calling us to serve.  We must help because God is calling us to help.  We must do what others are afraid to do.

You see, God never intended us to be safe. Jeremiah wasn't safe in the pit.  Daniel wasn't safe in the lion's den.  Jesus wasn't safe on the cross.  Paul wasn't safe in prison.  Yet, we get this idea that safety is what God wants for our lives.

He doesn't.  He wants service.

So don't be too scared to pick up the hitchhiker.  Don't spout a Bible verse to defend your position.  Reach out, help and share Jesus with someone who needs to hear the truth of the Gospel.  That is exactly what Christ calls us to do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotion to a false god

Image
Last week, at Disney World, I went to retrieve our stroller from the stroller parking section.  As I searched among the hundred or so strollers, I finally found mine and started to move it.  As I pulled, it snagged on a woman's garment.  Panicked, I looked up and saw it was a Muslim women in full Muslin dress.  Her body was completely covered.  Only a slit for her eyes was visible.  I was careful not to yank, and I tried to apologize as the hook of the handle caught part of her garment.  She didn't say a word and we both quietly went on our ways. As I walked away, I felt pity on her.  For one, it's Disney World in June in Florida.  I strode along in shorts and a very thin T-shirt.  Both were soaked in sweat.  I had already consumed two bottles of water and still felt weary.  She was dressed head to toe in heavy garments.  I can't imagine how hot she was pushing a stroller with two kids through a mass of people in hum...
Read more

Bearing Responsbility

Image
I remember when my daughter was first born. Amid the excitement and joy came an overwhelming feeling.  This baby, which I held in my hands, was now my responsibility.  When she got sick, needed feeding, required a diaper change, or had to be corrected and taught, those responsibilities fell to me as her father.  In a matter of a few minutes, I had been entrusted with a new life on planet earth. Looking back on that day six years ago, I was excited but scared.  Yet, that is nothing compared to the responsibility Joesph must have felt.  Joseph was a righteous man, according to scripture, and he knew one thing for certain - Jesus was not his biological son.  Thus, he planned to divorce Mary quietly and be rid of the whole matter. And before we vilify Joseph, know that he could have done much worse.  By law, Mary could have been stoned to death.  His divorce was a form of mercy.  She would live and he would be rid of the stigma of an unfait...
Read more

Following Jesus' Example

Jesus was not a convential man. Often, when Jesus taught, he challenged the status quo.  He also liked to use object lessons and parables to illustrate his points about faith and a relationship with God. One night after dinner, during the last week of his life before the resurrection, he finished eating, took off his outer garment, grabbed a towel and started to wash the disciples' feet. Stunned, Peter protested, but Jesus said it had to be done.  He had to allow Jesus, his rabbi, his teacher, his Lord, to become a servant and wash Peter's dirty, worn feet.  So he did.  Jesus washed all their feet that night.  Then he said:  You need to do this too. Too often in Christianity today, there is an attitude of moral superiority.  We love to build beautiful church buildings, boast of our attendance, brag about our programs and talk about the money we give.  At the same time, we turn our nose up to the alcoholics and drug addicts and homeless and...
Read more