"Man Up!" - The Personal Touch

A few days ago my wife and I had gone to our local CVS Pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Piper as well as three that the doctor had prescribed for me following the oral surgery that he had just completed on me.  Needless to say, I was feeling a little strange as the local anesthesia he had given me prior to the surgery was wearing off and pain was starting to seep in.  With robotic movements I popped the trunk on the Mustang, carefully pulled out Piper’s chair and rolled it to her side of the car. 

As I opened her door I caught the movement of a lady out of the side of my eye as she was exiting the store.  The lady was staring at us without any sign of emotion and I just kind of shrugged and focused on getting my wife out without bumping her head on the top of the car!  The next thing I knew as I lifted Piper and turned her toward her chair, the lady suddenly appeared at the back of the wheelchair and gently moved it into position for Piper to sit down. I was a little taken back and began to thank the gal for her helpfulness.

It seemed strange though, that the older lady never said anything or even acknowledged us.  She just stood there and finally asked me to unlock the wheels on the chair so that she could move Piper out of the way allowing me to close the door on the car.  Once that was completed she quietly turned and began to walk toward her car parked across the lot.  I stood there a bit amazed and simply thanked her again and encouraged her to have a great rest of the evening… to which she turned, smiled and said “you too!”  Then she was off without another word.

Once we got into the store I stopped and bent down next to my wife and exclaimed “that was sweet of her” and then went about our business as I was tired, sore and getting more light headed with each moment and needed most of my concentration just to get to the pharmacy counter at the back of the store!

I didn’t really think much more about the incident until this morning as I read from Philippians 1:9-11 in the Message Bible.  In very conversational language the author describes Paul’s prayer saying: “So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well.  Learn to love appropriately… Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life that Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.”

This verse seemed to explain that woman’s behavior in the parking lot the other day.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that “Love is the personal touch!”  I have no idea if that gal was a Christian or not, but her quiet, unassuming actions not only demonstrated much love… but also love done well!  Whether she intended it or not, her act of love made Jesus Christ attractive to me.  It definitely proved that our actions mean much more than our words… especially since this women basically didn’t say anything!  She simply let her actions speak for her. 

I think that this woman has set a great example for all of us to follow today!  I would say that it is time to shut up and act out our love as opportunities present themselves to us.  Would you agree?  I recently read that “Fear looks while Faith jumps.”  Well, with the understanding that our faith works by love, I imagine we could make that statement appropriate to our subject today by saying: “FEAR stops and only LOOKS at opportunities, while Faith that worketh by LOVE takes action and JUMPS at the various opportunities that present themselves each day!”

So… what do you say?  Will you only LOOK or will you JUMP and let the LOVE of God working through you make Jesus Christ attractive to all?  Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What JUMP motivated by LOVE am I expecting to take today?”