On my way to and from work I usually see a homeless man riding his bike. He lives in the woods. This week I took a moment to leave the office to run an errand. I passed the homeless man but this time he was walking instead of riding his bike. It looked like he was limping. As I passed him I made a decision that if I saw him walking on my way back to the office I would pick him up. Sure enough he was walking back to his home in the woods carrying a bag of groceries. I stopped and picked him up. His name was John. A few days earlier, a car hit him while he was riding his bike. That explained the fact he was limping and no longer had a bike. As I dropped him off at his home in the woods he asked me a question, "Which God do you represent?" His question threw me off for a moment and then I answered his question. As he left my truck John said to me, "I wonder if that God would love me too?" I looked him in the eye and said, "John, if he can love a knucklehead like me He loves you too!"
I saw John today walking down the road. I didn't stop to pick him up. I was on my cell phone. I had to get back to the office. I was in a hurry. I wondered after I passed John if he saw me and my truck passing him by? I wondered if I was doing a good job representing God as I passed by John?
The next time I see John I will stop and ask if he needs a ride. Thank you God for forgiving me and thanks for loving John the homeless man who lives in the woods.
Mike, reading stuff like this makes me almost wish I was a man so I could pick people up. It always hurts me to see people walking when it's obvious they could use a ride. While I do trust the Lord, I'm also a woman and a mom often traveling with kids, and I'm not at liberty to offer rides to strangers.
ReplyDeleteSo I'll pray for you all the harder, as you do what I wish I could.