“I guess you can pray for me”

Our faith shown by our love

Recently, after having dinner with friends, the waitress asked if there was anything else she could do for us. There wasn’t, but one of the people in our group surprised us all when he asked, if there was anything we could do for her.

She thought for a moment and then casually replied, “I guess you can pray for me.” What happened next will never be forgotten.

We joined hands and asked what she wanted us to pray about. It was then that her emotions took over. Through her tears, she mentioned her family and the many struggles they were facing. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room after that prayer.

Jesus tells us that we will be known by our love (John 13:34-35). It won’t be what kind of car we drive, how well our children are dressed, or where we work. It won’t be our political affiliation or views on worldly matters that will show others that we belong to him.

The number of friends we have on Facebook, how many people follow us on Twitter, or how popular our blog is, won’t make us stand out in a crowd either. Neither will what version of the Bible we use, what brotherhood lectureship we attend, or which Christian college we happen to support.

The only way that the world will know who we belong to is how well we treated them. Were we nice to the waitress? Did we spend time with the sick, lonely, and abandoned?

Did we have a genuine love and concern for the addicted, abused, and mentally ill? Did we serve others joyfully? What did we do and, more importantly, how did we do it?

We can be in the church building every time the doors are open, but if we’re rude, arrogant, or hateful in the world, then we may as well be sleeping in on Sunday mornings.

Lord, help us to be like Christ because the world is watching.

by Paula Harrington

Leave a Reply