May 7, 2020
A Hand-Up
“And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16
A friend of mine who is a fellow member of the board of trustees of the college from which he and I graduated tells the story of when he was a senior in high school his coach asked him if he was going to consider college as the next step in his life, to which my friend replied that he only had $6.00 in his checking account. His coach then told him about a fine liberal arts college in western Illinois and that he should consider it, ending up with the promise: “I’ll help you get there.”
Life is built upon the foundation of others giving you and me a hand- up to help achieve that next level of opportunity. It may have been a teacher, a coach, a good friend, a brother or sister, or your mother or father. No matter who it was, they showed enough interest in you to help put you on the path to meaning and fulfillment.
Today we are living in a much more dire situation.There are tens of millions unemployed with little hope for another job. What was once a promising outlook has now become an unexpected nightmare.Feeding your family, paying the mortgage, making the rent, providing the necessities-- have turned into a mad scramble for many.
As fellow Christians, we can offer hope in otherwise hopeless situations by helping those affected by this unexpected storm of joblessness and hopelessnessby listening, connecting them to others, and assisting them in their material needs. It has always been the Christian’s calling and duty to offer a hand-up with the same spirit of the coach: “I’ll help you get there.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we seek out ways in which we can sustain others in their search for survival and dignity, knowing that you have given us the tools to care for those in great need. Amen.
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