A WISH FOR YOU
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the
land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Recently
you were stopped at the red light of an intersection. You saw a man who was
sitting on the street corner with a sign: Will Work For Food. He was not an
unusual sight for you. You have passed that intersection often and had seen
others with similar signs.
This night
you found yourself staring at the man. He was about your height with a wrinkled
and weathered face, slick hair, dirty clothes and a ragged overall appearance.
For a moment you put yourself in his shoes. You thought what it would be like
to sit there hour after hour, without sufficient supply for your life. You
imagined looking at people in there cars who refused to look you in the eye or
who stared at you blankly. Your tried to imagine what it would feel like to sit
there hungry, without work or money, without someone to care enough for you to
take you in or offer help. What does it feel like to be empty inside, without
accomplishments or purpose, without direction or future, perhaps with an
addiction to alcohol or drugs? You wonder what it would be like to sit there in
the early evening and gaze at a well dressed family on their way to a place
where they were wanted, needed and loved. How would you feel being ignored by
such a family and other people?
Was he
looking for a handout to by a bottle of liquor? Perhaps. Was he looking for
money so he did not have to work? Maybe. Was he looking for help in the only
way he knew? You don’t know. The light changed. You drove away. He was still
sitting in the dark.
Prayer:
Lord God, give me the desire to stop and reach out to those around me lost in
the darkness of their lives, to those lost in sin, hopelessness and sorrow. May
the light you have give me be a light for them to see You. Amen.
