Saturday, November 1, 2014

Coming Alongside to Help

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you" (John 14:16-17)

I experienced today one of the most tender and heart-touching moments that I have ever witnessed, beloved!  We were at the nursing home where Bev's mom resides and were about to leave.  In the hallway outside her room, an elderly Alzheimer's resident was trying with great difficulty to move her wheelchair down the hall to the front lobby where many love to sit.  Another resident, a man in a motorized wheelchair came up behind her and grabbed her chair, I thought to move it out of his way.  Instead he asked her, "Are you having difficulty, ma'am?"  Without waiting for a reply, he took a firm hold on the armrest of her manual wheelchair and "hit the gas" of his motorized wheelchair.  I watched in amazement as he literally "towed" her to her destination before continuing on his way.  He had actually come alongside her to help her and was able to see her through her dilemma.

"Not a big deal," some might say.  But it surely is if you are an Alzheimer's victim confined to a nursing home and you can't get your wheelchair to work for you!  What occurred to me instantly as I watched that special moment of ministry going on was that the Greek word Parakletos, recorded here in the words of the Apostle John to describe God's gift to us of the indwelling Holy Spirit, literally means "one coming alongside to help."  What I was seeing played out before my eyes was for me a reminder of the work of the Spirit of God daily in my own life and in the lives of those who have a true relationship by faith with Jesus Christ.

Just as that "good Samaritan" came alongside to help that sweet lady in her distress, so the Spirit of God is present within us to "come alongside" and help us through whatever it is that we are facing.  And in like manner, beloved, again beautifully exemplified by that unidentified helper today, we as believers have the responsibility to "come alongside" those into whose lives the Holy Spirit may send us.  No matter what the need may be, we should be doing all that we can to help others along the way, especially along the path to knowing Jesus Christ and living with Him eternally.

I am pretty sure that the aforementioned gentleman today does not know that I witnessed his gift of grace and mercy.  I am sure that he does not know what an impact his example made upon my life and what a reminder he was and is to me of what I need to be doing more of myself from day to day.  The formula is pretty simple, beloved:  

(1) Be on the lookout always for those who are stuck on the side of life's path, and 
(2) Do whatever is needed to meet their need and to set them moving again in the direction that God would have them to go. 

As you do that, you will be imitating the person and work of the Spirit of God in your own life.  You will also be advancing the kingdom of God and you will certainly be exalting the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and pointing others to Him!

Ron