One Sunday morning, a few years ago, my children and I were driving down the street during a rainstorm. We passed a motorist who was clearly struggling with a flat tire. As we drove by, my daughter asked, “Aren‘t you going to help like you always do?” Without even looking I said, “Well it‘s raining pretty hard and we need to get to church. Besides…I‘m not alone. It‘s too dangerous to help a stranger with you and you brothers in the vehicle with me.” Somewhat indignantly she responded, “You‘re right, the Bible only says that Jesus healed people on the Sabbath, it doesn‘t say that he did it in the rain.” At that moment my middle son sarcastically chimed in, “Yeah, I‘m sure Jesus might have done things differently if he had known how dangerous the cross was going to be.” It is annoying when a child has a smart mouth. It is just downright unfair when they are right.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus tended to the needs of those around him. In the Gospels, we see Jesus ignoring his own safety to heal a man with a withered hand, on the Sabbath and in front of the Pharisees who were conspiring against him (Matthew 12:9-14). Jesus can also be found pausing to heal a sick woman while he is urgently on his way to heal a dying girl (Matthew 9:18- 26). Helping those in need was always a priority for Jesus. We never see Jesus taking into consideration his own personal comfort, security, convenience or even safety before helping someone in need.
Too often we are guilty of being Christians of convenience. The time has to be right or our own circumstance must be perfect before we get involved. Christianity is not a clique of convenience, but a lifestyle of commitment that calls for us to look beyond ourselves in service and love. Your calendar or your checkbook should not gauge spiritual dedication and involvement.
Sometimes, we even invent excuses to rationalize our apathy. But no excuse is going to make something right that we should not have done, or make up for something that we should have done. What is right is always right, even if it takes us into the rain or uses our vacation funds. Making excuses may make us feel better, but it does not change the truth. Live always and at all times to make Christ known.