"I look to the right and see: no one stands up for me...no one cares about me" (Psalm 142:4). Let me tell you (with permission) about someone who I suspect felt this way.
A man, for medical reasons, was forced into early retirement. He was financially secure, but emotionally unsteady and spiritually uncertain. We talked occasionally, and he attended church sporadically...and I liked him.
One evening, a mutual friend called and frantically explained that she and others, had made prolonged, but unsuccessful attempts to contact the man. He'd shared no plans of going away and his vehicle was in the laneway. Because he had been depressed, they feared the worst.
I went to his home and knocked on both doors. A neighbor came over and said that he too was concerned with the uncharacteristic silence next-door.
Admittedly, what followed was more impulsive than wise. With a sense of urgency and noticing that a window was slightly open, the neighbor hoisted me up; I slid the window open and slipped in (I know...B&E doesn't look very good on a pastoral resume).
All went well until, tumbling to the floor, my foot put a tear in the screen and bent the frame...but I was in. My friend and I looked all over the house and garage, but found no one home. We later discovered that a family member had taken him on a three day outing.
I went to speak with him a few days later and he invited me in. I could see the damaged screen from where I was sitting. Waiting for the appropriate timing and the right words, he pre-empted me by saying that the most amazing thing had happened while he was away. "Someone" he explained "broke into my home while I was away, but nothing is missing!"
I confessed my crime to him, without mentioning that I had an accomplice and said I would like to pay for the damage to the screen and if he wanted, he could take me to the RCMP and I would confess there as well.
He was astounded. He asked, "Why in the world would you break into my home?" I explained my concerns and halfway through the explanation he began to weep. He said, "Do you mean that you care enough for me to break into my home? I didn't think anyone cared for me that much!" He thanked me profusely for what he considered to be an act of kindness!
I'm not suggesting engaging in felonious activities. I am suggesting people need to know that we care...and that is the road that leads to sharing with them that God cares!
PS: He refused to let me pay for the damaged screen.
Pastor Ross Helgeton Senior Pastor – Erskine Evangelical Free Church Phone: 403 – 742 – 5020 Email: revrh@telus.net