A Box of Compassion

“Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 The Message

When Bruce and I were sick with Covid last month I could barely get off of the couch. I had wondered what it would be like ...pondered how my body would response...considered which symptoms I would get. I wasn’t consumed with it, rather awaiting its arrival since I felt that everyone would eventually get Covid. As I laid there on the couch, a text popped up on my phone with a picture of a box on my porch overflowing with supplies and food. I couldn’t believe that a dear friend had come so far to bless us...to feed us...to care for us through the provisions...to offer nutrients and strengthen us through liquids. As I unpacked the box one item and a time, I was touched with how personal the items were to my preferences and needs. Her compassion was so dear and her timing was impeccable. This morning as I read a chapter in Begin Again, by Max Lucado her face came to mind and I was so blessed to know that when she dropped off that box of provisions, she dropped off that box to Jesus.

He writes, ‘The sign of the saved is their concern for those in need...And yet in these simple deeds, we serve Jesus. Astounding, this truth: we serve Christ by serving needy people. None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus’ p. 124.

We might just see Jesus playing an instrument with an empty case on the ground laid open, an invitation to a dollar or some change to be tossed in there. We might see Jesus in a hospital bringing a pill to a patient for pain relief. We might see Jesus in the grocery line counting out her change to see if there is enough to cover her few items. Jesus is everywhere and the opportunities to serve another are innumerable and everywhere we look. So, may we ask the question of ourselves according to Max, ‘O Lord, where did I see you yesterday...and didn’t recognize you? Where will I encounter you today...and fail to identify you? Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion’ p. 124.

You never know...Jesus just might walk up your front steps and drop off a box of compassion!