One night and morning, we got a bunch
of snow in front of our house. As pretty much every other house does, I went out when it had slowed
down to get it shoveled away so we could get our cars out and it would not
create an even bigger mess later on. About halfway down the driveway I saw it:
the dreaded plow truck. I watched in dismay as it shoved an extra layer of wet
snow onto the end of the drive and proceeded down the street. This is normal,
but I was hoping for a chance to get the first layer off before the second got
put on as well.
By the time I got to the heavy snow at the end I
was running out of steam. Even better, as I have an arrangement for parking my
car across the street in my older neighbor’s second drive, I had that one to do
as well. I began wondering if I really
would need my car that day…
As I was contemplating this decision, I heard a
sound: the lovely, wondrous sound of a small-cylinder engine. Looking up I saw
one of the teenage boys down the street bringing over his family’s snow blower.
He had seen me taking a break and had come to help. He plowed out the heavy
snow in my driveway, plowed the driveway across the street, and then plowed the
older couple’s main driveway while I helped our next door neighbor with a
second round of heavy snow brought by a second plow truck. The young man did
not ask for payment, thanks, or anything of the sort. He simply saw a need and
went to fill it without boasting or seeking praise.
This reminds me of the attitude we are to have in
our own lives. Time and again Scripture tells us to help those in need. It does
not give qualification. It does not tell us to judge if they are worth helping.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:1, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds
before men, to be seen by them.
Otherwise you have no reward from your father in heaven.”
Every person reading this has opportunity to
quietly do good for others. It is one way we show our faithfulness to Christ.
It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day activities that we start
thinking we do not “have time” for it, but that is simply not true. We have the
time. It is a matter of priority. The question is what will we choose?
There is a time and place for big, grandiose aid,
but those tend to be few and far in-between. It is in the daily life of
watching for those who need help that we find the vast majority of our
opportunities to do so. It is my encouragement to you that you watch for and
take those opportunities whether big or small, so that Christ may be glorified
as you go about your daily life. If we were all to do this, and shine the light
of Christ in our actions and words, both big and small, there is no telling how
far those seeds we plant will go!
