Thursday, January 29, 2015

I shared with you that over and over Christ said we should help the poor.  He doesn't say anything about how they got into the fix they are in.  He just says help them.  Find a good charity, but don't neglect those that cross your path.

My friend Carolyn came out of the beauty shop the other day, got in her car and noticed a woman on a bench nearby weeping.  Carolyn rolled down her window and asked if the lady needed help.  The woman must have walked a mile or two to get as far as she did--there was no car.  "I am just upset," she said.  "Things have gone really bad today and when I get home, they will have turned off my electricity."

"Do you need me to drive you to the municipal utility office?"
"No, I don't have any money to pay the bill."
"Get in," my friend Carolyn said.  "I'll pay the bill."  The lady started sobbing.
"Why would you do that," she asked.
"Because you need help.  And because I am a Christian."

Luke 10:30-35 tells the story of the good Samaritan.  A man was beaten up, stripped naked, wounded and left for dead.  A priest passed by and went to the other side of the road to avoid him.  A Levite did the same.  But a Samaritan (the Jews hated the Samaritans) had compassion on him.  He stopped, bound his wounds, put him on his donkey and carried him to an inn.  He gave the proprietor money, and said he would repay if he spent more.  In verse 36, Jesus asks, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the wounded man?"

Jesus didn't ask how or why the man got beaten up and left for dead.  Jesus dealt with the man's need.
You have occasion to help unfortunate people from time to time.  Yes, they may not deserve it, but I like to leave that in God's hands.

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