February 28
Scripture: Matt 25:36
Source author: Kathleen Kohler
February 28
An Uncomfortable Choice I was sick, and you cared for me. —Matthew 25:36
The doctors say I don’t have much time left,” the young woman told me when she entered the bookstore where I worked. Crystal, desperate to reconnect with a faith she’d discarded years earlier, asked my advice on Christian books that would help her. During her bookstore visits over the coming months, we talked, laughed, and prayed. When she was confined to her house as her disease progressed, she asked if I could bring by inspirational items for her to purchase. My own fears of sickness and death caused me to hesitate. “I’ll get back to you,” I said. I agonized between obeying God’s Word and looking the other way. As I prayed, God’s love helped me step beyond my fears and into Crystal’s world. While her health continued to decline, I relied on the Lord’s strength as I wiped her face with a damp cloth, helped her with the bedpan, prayed, and read to her. Though I never grew comfortable and dreaded each encounter, Christ’s example empowered me to love not with mere words but actions.
God’s love enables us to minister to others beyond what we feel capable of doing. — Kathleen Kohler —