If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

On Worshipful Wednesdays, we take a look at God’s word and His kingdom to see what we can learn about ourselves, Him and/or our relationships with Him.

The other day I ran across a post by April McGowan about something that happened when she took her son to the doctor’s office. Her son and all the other kids at that office suffered from gastrointestinal problems of some sort or another.

As they waited, the outer door opened, and a woman pushed her son into the office in a raised wheelchair. The boy was wailing at the top of his lungs, disturbing all the people in the waiting room—and probably up and down the halls as well.

Our normal human reaction to something like this is probably along the lines of, “I wish she’d get him out of here. He’s upsetting everyone.” I don’t know whether April had that thought or not, but her subsequent action was much more highly motivated than that.

She began to think about how everyone in the room shunned this woman and her son. Then the thought occurred to her that this probably happened to this mother everywhere she went. She realized that the mother must lead a very frustrating and lonely life. She probably devoted every ounce of her energy to her son.

With these thoughts in mind, instead of seeking to get away, April went over to talk to the woman. She continued to sit with her, talk to her and soothe her until the nurse called the lady and her son back to an exam room.

What a beautiful example of Christian love. It couldn’t have been comfortable moving over even closer to this young boy who kept crying as loud as he could, striking up a conversation with the harried stranger who had brought him in. But the love and compassion in her heart led her to do exactly that.

Equally important was the reaction her example evoked in her young son. When the lady and her son had disappeared from the waiting room, April’s own son came over to her and commented on how sad the other boy’s condition was, and he suggested that they stop and pray for him right there in the doctor’s office.

Love and compassion are contagious. When we do things like this, we set examples for others to follow, whether the others be our own kids or grandkids or just strangers we never meet. We never know what effect an act of kindness may have—not only on the direct recipient, but also on observers we’re not even aware of.

I hope I would have done what April did, but I’m not sure whether I would have or not. How about you? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Have a New Testament passage or concept you’d like to see discussed here? Maybe something you’ve never quite understood. I’d love to hear from you about that, too. I’ll try my best to explain it.

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.