Whether to Stop or Just Keep on Going?

   When the announcement was made that the ladies at church were holding their annual “drive through” dinner on the Friday after Easter, we wanted to make sure that we purchased the tickets ahead of time and marked the date on the calendar. The money raised would go for missions, a good cause, and the food was always fabulous.

     On that Friday evening, I made a special trip down to Porterville to pick up the meal and was planning on heading straight home so that we could eat it while the food was still warm.

As I turned onto the Henderson Avenue off ramp from Highway 65, there was a man walking along the edge of the exit, talking to people in the line of cars in the left turn lane who were waiting for the signal to change. Was he asking for money? Work? I was making a right turn, but decided to stop and talk to him on the way back, if he was still there.

     Once at the church, I handed over the two tickets to a friend who belonged to the women’s group and then received a plastic bag filled with Styrofoam containers of various sizes. In a few minutes the wonderful aroma of shredded barbecued beef filled the car.

     Sure enough, the fellow was standing in the same spot as I passed by. Should I stop or head on home? I made a u turn and pulled into the parking lot of the little convenience store near the exit ramp. The thought came to me that I should have bought three dinners instead of two as I got out of the car and walked across the crosswalk carrying a “Packet of Hope,” a baggie filled with supplies—but nothing smelling as good as the meat from the women’s circle dinner.

     We introduced ourselves, shook hands and exchanged a few short sentences. He shared that he was just passing through the area, probably going to Chicago. Family? Their whereabouts were unknown.  “Are people stopping to help?” I asked as the cars whizzed by.

    “Yes. Someone gave me twenty dollars,” he said smiling, revealing several missing teeth.

     Just then a voice called out from one of the cars rolling by, “God bless you, ma’am.”  I couldn’t help thinking of those dinners and wanted to shout back that he was asking blessings for the wrong person! I’ve been blessed abundantly and was just trying to share God’s love with one of His children in a small, tangible way.

     Stopping for a person in need, taking time to lend a hand, looking for the ‘lost,’ caring for them and praying…these aren’t easy things to do. There are so many other things clamoring for our attention. And yet God calls us to be on the lookout for his lost sheep and to act!

     Dear Father, please use us to share your love and bring new hope of eternal life to those of your children who are lost and searching for you. Help us to find them!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:3-7 NIV