Who Could You Serve Today?

Earlier this week I was walking downtown by a building just as a lady in her sixties was exiting the building. She missed her last step and came crashing down hitting the sidewalk hard.  Two other people who were close by kept walking without lending a hand.  I stopped and asked if she was okay and if she needed some help up. She extended her hand and I pulled her up back onto her feet. She seemed to be a little shaky, so I held onto her arm for a minute or two while she regained some strength and composure. She thanked me and I went on my way.

Afterwards as I was reflecting on this experience two things hit me. First, what were the odds of me walking by right at the moment when she fell? Second, what if God had put me in that place and time just so I could help her?

My mind immediately thought of the following verse in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:8-10 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Verses 8 and 9 remind us that we are saved not by our own efforts and “works” but rather because of God’s grace that we receive “through faith.” But then verse 10 tells us that having been saved, there are “good works” that “God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Could there be specific “good works” that God prepares us to do each day? Yes. Does God place around us specific people at work, at home, at school, and elsewhere that he wants us to reach out to? Yes. Galatians 5:13 says, “Serve one another in love,” and Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” And sometimes those opportunities to serve one another or carry each other’s burdens don’t land in front of us automatically; we need to go out of our way a bit.

What if we took a look around us and asked God to show us who needed some encouragement and care? What if we made it a priority to intentionally go out of our way to reach out to one person each day?

I want to invite you to do that. Take a moment and pray. Ask the Lord to bring to mind the name of one person that you could reach out to today. Maybe it’s someone that is sick and could use a phone call. Maybe there’s someone you could cook a meal for or bake some cookies for as a way of serving them. Maybe you could write a note of encouragement to someone. Maybe you could give a gift to a family in need. Maybe your neighbor could use help mowing their lawn. Maybe there’s someone you could share the gospel with.

I believe that there are specific people that God wants you to extend a hand of love to this day. Ask God and then go serve in his strength.