For a moment I wrestled with the the idea of giving such a strange lady a lift in my car...What would people think if they saw me? What would they say about me in the village where we live if they saw her getting into my car? She looked like she had some lifestyle issues and wasn't the kind of person I would normally have riding in my car but she needed a lift , a simple request from a needy person and a solution that I had the means of providing and which would not really take me out of my way and yet I was hesitating..........
Then in the split second that I was thinking of a reason to refuse, there came to my mind the proverb that I myself have often quoted .."do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act" and I could not say no after that.
As it turns out she was actually going to my local church to mark Easter and apparently she knows people there that I know and actually she wasn't as scary as she may have first appeared. So what if people saw me with her in my car. Here was someone I could help and it was in my power to act, there should have been no question but sadly there was, for a few moments at least.
So I feel humbled by the reality that I almost missed the opportunity just because I was worried about appearances and that makes me feel a little ashamed because most of the people who need help are people on the edge and they do not come all dressed in designer clothes and smelling of roses but on the inside they are just looking for acceptance and love like we all do.
Thankfully Jesus did not hesitate when he came to earth to seek and save those who were lost and to reach out to the sick , the lame and those whom religious people regarded as the dregs of society.
May God save us from religion and inspire us to love like He loves and give like He gives.
