Road Map Not Included

Matthew 25:45 -- "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "

Cart bursting with thin gray plastic bags, my hair is whooshed over my face by the industrial strength blower over the automatic doors. The sun is blaring and I have to squint before I realize I'd stuck my sunglasses on the top of my head and need to put them over my eyes. Doing so makes the Florida bright bearable.

It never fails, it seems.  As I put foot to boiling black top a scruffy looking person that appears to need a good, long shower comes up to me with a forlorn look spread across his face. He starts in on his story about how his car broke down and he's stuck. An out of towner, could I just spare a dollar or two to help put some gas in his car so he can get back home?

I have been snared by this trap before. I no longer carry loose change. I carry no cash - so when the dirty guy approached me I could honestly tell him I didn't have anything on me. I avoided eye contact and hurried on my way in attempt to keep my refigeratables from melting before I could get to the car.

Now, here's the truth. I felt bad for the guy. I can't imagine being far from home with no foreseeable means to get back. However, I have been strongly encouraged by members of my family to allow the "lost parking lot vultures" to find aid elsewhere because, undoubtedly, they are not honest seekers of help.

Are we so sure they aren't? What if the tables were turned? For example:

My oldest works the night shift. He leaves before I go to bed and gets home as I'm stepping into the shower the next morning. It's a tough thing for a mom to let their babies go ... it's even tougher when the mom knows it's dark outside. What if something happens? What if something goes wrong? Every night when B closes the door behind him I pray that the Lord command his angels concerning Brian. Every night, the Lord blesses me with the return of my child in the wee hours of day light.

Except one.

Sunday morning came bright an early like all other Sunday mornings with one exception - B was late. Very, very late. By 11:30am, the rattle of the garage door had still not been heard and the change in pressure as the back door opens had not been set into motion. This time, it was my son roaming a parking lot hoping against all hope that he could get home on the kindness of strangers. This time ... God granted my son grace, when I so often don't do the same for others.

Brian endeavors to let the light of Jesus Christ shine through him no matter the situation. Early Sunday morning was no exception. A co-worker needed a lift home - and though extremely short on gas AND having neglected to pick up the gas card on his way out - Brian obliged. He and co-worker set out for the far side of Jacksonville. [Note - Jacksonville is the second largest city in the world from boarder to boarder. The first? Davao City, Philippines....]

Off they go - after safely arriving at co-worker's residence, Brian is faced with the challenge of getting back home. The thing about B? He's not blessed with a great sense of direction. In no time flat he found himself out of gas and terribly lost. Brian managed to pull the Cruiser into a gas station on pure fumes and asked the clerk how to get back to Saint Johns.

The clerk replied: "Florida?"

Wow. Really? B's stomach dropped to his toes as he asked: "Where am I?"
Clerk: "You're in Georgia, son."

Had it not been for a kind woman who put one gallon of gas in B's car -- AND the kind gentleman who gave him four dollars to do the same .... Brian would not have made it back home. After three failed attempts to put a call through to our house from his cell phone - he was very literally stuck out of town, with no foreseeable means to get back.

Thank you, sweet Savior, for keeping my son safe. Thank you, Lord - for granting undeserved grace. Thank you for providing in a time of need.

Matthew put it pretty plainly in chapter 25. Whatever we do not do for our fellow man, we do not do for Christ. It isn't up to me to decide if a person is deserving of grace. It is not for me to judge if the person is honestly seeking help or doing what he can to put gas in his car without actually working for a living. I don't' have to hand over a fortune. But I DO have to do what God wants me to do.

From this day forward -- that includes handing over a couple of dollars to the "lost parking lot vultures". I am so very, very grateful that someone did the same for my son.