God sent you to me today

As I have grown, the more precious true friends have become to me. There are hearts that have touched and impacted my life in ways I cannot even articulate. Christ places people in our lives to bless us and help us carry the burdensome load this life often lays on us. In turn, we must be purposeful in being even a greater blessing to others. We all have heard the saying "being the hands and feet of Jesus." This is not found in scripture but is a metaphor for the work we are to do in the name of Christ. "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:37-40. As we draw closer to Christ we are in tune to the urgings he puts on our hearts. There have been countless times I have been contacted by one of these dear friends at a time that can only be attributed to the persuasion of the Spirit.

 

As we go through this life we come in contact with people with whom we have a connection. They have a deep purpose in our lives and are a blessing from the Lord. Then there are those we pass by and often do not see. The closer we are to Christ the more we see heartbroken souls through His eyes. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is accomplished by emptying ourselves of our own desires, we are vessels to be blessings to others. Those who are defeated and struggling, grieving and brokenhearted, they are the ones who are desperately needing a touch from the Lord, his hands and feet alive in us. "Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also." Hebrews 13:1-3. It is uncanny how, when we take our focus off of ourselves for just a second, we can have our eyes opened to those struggling and provide a need. God shows up in amazing ways.

 

I was in the Public Library recently on a very cold and rainy afternoon. The librarian had informed me my card had expired and apparently the process in renewing it is VERY involved. I was becoming annoyed at the amount of time it was taking to renew it. She seemed convinced that no upstanding citizen would ever let their library card expire. Along came an older lady who had her arms full of books. I stepped aside and let her lay them on the counter, and as I did so, I noticed she was worn and tired and slightly out of breath. As I made small talk with her I offered to help her to her car with the books. She shared that she had no car and had just missed the transit to take her home. So there I stood, annoyed that my card renewal was taking so long and facing one of the scariest things in life. Not a needy stranger but everything the needy stranger represents that we do not want to be. We do not want to be one with no cell phone and more than that no friend to call. We do not want be one who smells musty like the old damp house we must live in, in the neighborhood served by the public transit. But most of all, we do not want to be the faceless person no one sees. I offered to take her home and when I pulled up in front of her house she turned and with genuine gratitude told me, "God sent you to me today."

 

I pondered that statement all the way home. Christ had used me to touch another life. Me, who was so consumed with my own inconvenience I almost didn't even see the need. My focus was literally self-centered. Christ knew a heart needed to be touched, a soul needed to be  seen by someone who cared. As I thought, I wondered how many of these opportunities had I passed? Multitudes I am sure. I was not filled with pride at doing a good deed. I was contemplating the multitudes of hurting souls in my community and at the same time humbled that Christ could use me to touch them. "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him." Luke 10:33-34. That is our purpose. People often ask, "What is the meaning of life?" as if it is an unanswerable question. The answer is to serve and glorify the Lord. It is that simple. How that is played out in each ones lives is different but the purpose is the same. As I have thought about her words since that day, "God sent you to me today" I realized that she was mistaken. The small task I did for her was miniscule compared to what she had done for me. She had gotten my focus off myself. God had not sent me to her; he had sent her to me.