There were several stalled vehicles on the roads this morning. They caused traffic jams that slowed everyone down. It took me nearly double the time to get to work today that it normally takes. It’s frustrating. Why can’t they get a tow truck and move them from the lanes quickly so the rest of us can get to work on time? Once a backup starts in rush hour, it’s hard for the freeways to recover.
When I got past the last stalled vehicle, I wanted to honk and yell, “Push your car into that parking lot!” Just then, I started to think about how many people are stalled in life and are on my path. Do I see them as impediments to where I’m trying to get to? Do I see them as wrecking my schedule and wasting my time? What if God put them in my path and I just speed around them?
I know what it’s like to be stalled, to be broken down on the side of the road of life. There were many who passed me by. In effect, they were saying, “Get your wrecked life out of my way. You’re slowing me down.” They didn’t care to stop and help. They saw me as someone who would require a lot of their time and throw off their schedule. I’m sure many avoided me and took other roads in order to avoid crossing my path. That’s how life is. That’s how we are. That’s how I am.
There were others though, who saw my wrecked life, and came to the rescue. They didn’t just see someone on the side of the road broken down. They saw a friend in need. They saw a stranger who looked down and needed help. They offered words of encouragement. They offered a helping hand. They gave me a push to get me going again. They showed the love of Christ without even knowing it. They didn’t see me as a waste of their time, they saw me as the reason for their time.
I wonder how many of us remember that we are called to love. We are called to help others. As Christians, other people’s lives are the reason we are here. Somehow we forget that as we go along our lives and get caught up in making a living, taking care of our families and securing finances to live a better life. We forget that this world is not our home. We start building our treasure here instead if in Heaven when we forget that.
In the story of the Good Samaritan, it was the religious people who saw the man on the side of the road and passed him by. It was the religious men who went to the other side. They forgot what they were called to do. They forgot their reason for being here. Instead, it was a Samaritan who helped. Someone who had no reason to help, had compassion and took the time to bring healing to the man whose life had been wrecked and was stuck on the side of the road.
Today, my prayer is for me and you to open our eyes to those who are hurting, wrecked or stalled in life. May God use us to help them along and to bring healing. May we not see them as a distraction, traffic or a hindrance to what we need to accomplish. Instead, let us be open to have compassion, to be used of God and to help bring healing to someone in our path today who desperately needs it. Don’t pass someone by today thinking they are wasting your time. They were put there by God and are the reason for your time.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 