Devotionals
Walking Among The Needy
John 5:1-15
(excerpt from Morning Meditations by Martin Wiles)
John 5:6 When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, Would you like to get well? (NLT)
They didn’t appear like us at all. We came from traditional families, lived in modest homes, and worked regular jobs. We attended church faithfully and supposedly loved our neighbors. But I wondered why we had to drive seven hours to love these?
Trying to process these thoughts, I joined a group from our church and started for a state and a church who had advertised for help with Vacation Bible Schools in a low income apartment complex. For the next four days, we labored getting materials together, programs in order and food prepared. And the children came-especially on the final day when we erected blow ups and dished out cotton candy, snow cones and hamburgers.
We discovered our far away neighbors weren’t any different than our nearby neighbors. Their stories touched us. We worried over children in difficult situations. In the end, we thanked God for letting us walk among the needy.
It was Jesus’ pattern to walk there too. His apartment complex was a pool adorned by a crowd of sick people. Legend said the occasional bubbling of the water was caused by angel wings, and the first person to step in would be healed. But one lame man always missed the opportunity because no one would help him. So Jesus just healed him, then told him to walk.
God strategically plants needs around us daily to see whether we will walk among or away from them. Prejudice, stereotyping, insufficient time, and unordered priorities can lead us away from those we should gladly embrace with God’s love. We normally don’t have to go very far in our search for God’s opportunities. Have you walked among the needy lately?
Prayer: Father, I admit my eyes are often closed to those they should be open to. I ask You to open my clenched fists so I can lead others to experience the goodness of Your love.
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