“We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up. When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:9&10
Today many of us find ourselves in the middle of another busy week with the added stress of preparing for Hurricane Florence. In a situation like this it can be very easy to become focused solely on taking care of ourselves and our families. But this is also a good time to remember that our family extends beyond those with whom we live. Our family is the household of faith- our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Instead of buckling under the temptation of tiredness, we can choose to see this impending storm as an opportunity to practice what Paul preaches to us in Galatians 6:9&10. As we head out to stock up on bread, milk and toilet paper we should pause for a moment and ask the
Holy Spirit to reveal any brother or sister that may need a little extra help preparing for this weekend. This is a great opportunity to practice doing good to our extended family.
When the Lord brings someone to mind, give them a shout or shoot them a text and ask if there is any way that you can help them. Maybe they need a ride to the store, some extra batteries or a refill of a necessary prescription. Even if they don’t need any physical or material help, maybe they just need to know that someone was thinking about them and concerned enough to reach out to them.
This is practical Christianity, my friends, and I am convinced that simple acts of kindness to our own family really test the quality of our faith. I say this because there is nothing glamorous about bringing a brother or sister some toilet paper before a storm, but it takes great faith to do it.
You see toilet paper doesn’t cost much, so we can’t boast in the expense of our gift. And these are familiar people to us, who most likely don’t have much influence, so there is little for our flesh to gain by serving them. This is why doing good in a time like this takes great faith, because only our Father is keeping score and our only benefit will be in eternity.
This is why I say that a week with a storm like the one we are experiencing now are simply an opportunity to reveal the kind of faith that we carry. We may have faith for signs and wonders, for the revelation of prophecies and for great works of healing and this is good. But we also need to have the kind of faith to believe that caring for ‘the least of these’ pleases our Father in heaven and one day, in eternity, we’ll hear Him say “Well done!”
Have a great week,
Pastor Jeff