Dear Fellow Children of God,
Yesterday Harvey Kolberg and I drove to Delta Junction
for the day. I know, that is a lot of driving for one day! We spent over 12 hours in the truck, driving
there and back, just so Harvey could help me prepare to use my rare Bison
Hunting permit. However, on the way back,
in dark and the snow on the road north of Paxson, we saw something surprising
and somewhat troubling. A car had
stopped in the middle of the Richardson Highway. The head-lights were on. Someone was sitting in the drivers’
seat. But the car was stopped in the
snow right in the middle of this major highway.
We turned around to ask the driver if he was ok. The young man from Switzerland had rented a
vehicle in Anchorage, driven to Fairbanks through Denali Park, and was
returning to Anchorage through Delta Junction and Glennallen. The
car he had rented did not have 4 wheel drive and the tires were worn. So, he could not stay on the road in the snow
unless he drove very slowly. On top of
that, in this area of highway the side of the road drops off into Summit Lake
and Paxson Lake. This young man faced
some danger if he drove on, and danger if he stayed there.
After talking to the man, Harvey offered to drive slowly in
front of or behind the man to get him out of this predicament. He accepted.
So, we drove about 15-20 miles an hour until we reached Paxson. By then the snow was no longer sticking to
the highway. But, there were still snow squalls. So, we continued to drive in front of the man
to Glennallen. When we reached this town
the man now had options and was safe.
Helping the man was not in our plans. It added time to our trip on a day that was
already a marathon. But, with just a
little time and concern, this man was helped from a place of danger to a place
of safety. It just took a little helping
hand. It may not always be in our
schedule, but God calls us to offer a helping hand to those around us. In fact, Jesus calls us to do more than that.
He tells His disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another.” (John 13:34)
We would all like to
think we can make our way through life by our own strength and ability. But in all honesty all of us have needed help
at times. All of us have benefited from
the kindness of others, even if we don’t want to remember that help. In fact, needing help is an ultimate truth of
life. None of us can make it out of this
world to the eternal welfare of heaven without Jesus. That is why Jesus left heaven for us and took
on our suffering and death. That is why Jesus
overcame our enemies by His resurrection so that we might have a way to eternal
life through the love of God. As Jesus
has reached out in love to help us he calls us to realize and believe in His
love. He calls us to believe His love
for us and to help others.
Who are those in your
life who need a helping hand? Do you
have friends or family in need? Have you
volunteered at MY House, or a Food Bank, or Mat-Su Regional? Have you helped a person beside the road? Consider where we would be without the love
and help of Jesus!
Thanks, Harvey, for a
lesson in Christian kindness, and for reflecting Jesus’ love.
A Child of
God, Blessed by the helping hand of my Lord and His people,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s trip.
Harvey’s friend, Scott, showed us around
on his game farm! https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/5931396086457110945?banner=pwa
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if
you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me
their e-mail address.
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