Gettysburg series part 8:

whom we help, even from those we think we know.

The guy whose dog I helped to bury had a talent for writing, something I did not know before the burial. One fellow we took to a neighboring community was a traveling musical evangelist. Sometimes hitching a ride, he made his way from one church to another. The church to which we took this man was expecting him for the next day’s service. Those whom we help have their unique stories and lessons to be gleaned from them.

The blessings we receive from our “inconvenient” efforts to help may include the peace that comes from knowing that the one we helped has experienced some relief or deliverance.

I wonder what that palsied man’s story was. What did his friends learn about his life and the insights it offered? I would not be surprised if Jesus’ conversation with the infirm man was a little more involved than what Luke records. I also wonder what those who witnessed his healing asked him afterward. “What was it like to gain feeling and strength?”

“Did you expect Jesus to heal you?” “What will you do now?”

We will never know the answers to those and other questions. But we can be certain that those who were inconvenienced were glad that they took the time to help and witness the results.

Let’s allow time to be inconvenienced a bit, be it in large or small ways, for the sake of other people. You and I will be blessings to them, and perhaps we may find a blessing or two in our lives as a result.

Perhaps we should encourage our younger generations to engage in some “inconvenient” activities to help others, be it baking brownies or volunteering to build houses. Those folks are the future. If able, let’s find time for “inconvenient” help for others, because you and I are in the reality of the present.

God, may we thank you for those who have been inconvenienced for our sakes. may we do the same for others in your Name. Amen.