WWJD?
It’s a cheesy, once popular phrase that’s almost no where to be seen nowadays (unless you count your local christian book store). The popularity is gone, but what about its call to action?
I was reading in Luke 14, when Jesus heals a suffering man on the Sabbath. Afterwards He turns to the lawyers and Pharisees in His midst and said “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”
The question paints a dramatic image. And of course, we would all rescue someone from a well at any point… because without rescue, without our help to give them a way out, they would die.
But there are people all around us, at work, at school, in the grocery store, a waiter at our favorite restaurant, maybe even a family member who is also trapped. They’re stuck in a deep deep well, whether they jumped in, slipped in, or were pushed in by another. And unless they are given a way out, they will suffer, they will starve for help, and they will die. They will die after all the while living right beside us, standing outside the locked gate unaware that those next to them have the key they desperately need.
Our God is a loving father. He didn’t create His children for suffering, but sin has entered in nevertheless. Still He has hands and feet on this earth. He has a church, an army of servants after His will. Being His ambassadors on earth means doing what He would do for those He loves. It means working to meet needs immediately, without hesitation. It means seeing the lost around us not as hopeless or as untouchable, but as people who need finding, people who need saving. It means doing what we can to provide.
Love is not a feeling. It’s an action. And the best way to fail at it is to never try.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” -Matt 5:16
“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:31
“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” -Titus 3:14
Father, help us see the people trapped around us. Help us see the hurting, the angry, the depressed, the lonely, the anxious, those trapped in sin. Help us to see from the shore those drowning in the waters beside us. Help us to show them the way, to give them even a small opportunity for safety, for salvation. Help us to see not their sin, but the love the Father has for them, His children. Remove our fear and hesitance and replace it with an active love, and a desire to help those who are in physical and spiritual need. Amen.
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