My father had a scar on his arm.
When I was a child, I asked him about it.
He never gave me a straight answer about it until he thought I was old enough to understand.
It was the result of an accident he had as a young man when he worked for a factory.
He was walking past the loading dock of the factory when a large bale of cotton that was quite heavy fell off the dock and landed on my father pinning him to the ground.
Among the injuries my father suffered was a broken arm that left his arm permanently scarred.
The weight of the bale made it impossible for my father to call out for help.
It also made it difficult for him to breathe.
People began to gather on the loading dock above and simply stared at my father’s body lying beneath this heavy load.
They offered no assistance because they assumed that my father was already dead and concluded that there was no hope.
Then, my father began to move his legs.
Once people above saw this, they realized my father was still alive and it was only then that they moved to free him of the burden that would have eventually suffocated him.
My father was then taken to the hospital and eventually recovered from his wounds.
The scar on his arm always served to remind him of the incident.
As the time to Easter draws nearer, I think of the injury my father suffered and how no one moved to help him thinking he was beyond either help or hope.
I also cannot help but wonder how many people there are who do not know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Many have not been ministered to because they have been mistakenly thought of as beyond help, beyond hope or too far gone.
No one is beyond help.
No one is beyond hope.
No one is too far gone.
Even the thief on the cross moments from death found hope in Jesus.
Luke 23:43 (NET) - And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise."
It is true that some will hear the word of God and reject it.
Yet that does not relieve those of us that believe of our responsibility to share the Good News.
The Great Commission was not an edict for a handful of people centuries ago.
It is a directive that applies to all believers even today.
Mark 16:15 (NET) - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."
Because of Jesus, no one is beyond hope.
All they need is for someone to move into action and remind them that there is hope.
You can be that someone.
Bring them to the cross.
Jesus will take it from there.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/
When I was a child, I asked him about it.
He never gave me a straight answer about it until he thought I was old enough to understand.
It was the result of an accident he had as a young man when he worked for a factory.
He was walking past the loading dock of the factory when a large bale of cotton that was quite heavy fell off the dock and landed on my father pinning him to the ground.
Among the injuries my father suffered was a broken arm that left his arm permanently scarred.
The weight of the bale made it impossible for my father to call out for help.
It also made it difficult for him to breathe.
People began to gather on the loading dock above and simply stared at my father’s body lying beneath this heavy load.
They offered no assistance because they assumed that my father was already dead and concluded that there was no hope.
Then, my father began to move his legs.
Once people above saw this, they realized my father was still alive and it was only then that they moved to free him of the burden that would have eventually suffocated him.
My father was then taken to the hospital and eventually recovered from his wounds.
The scar on his arm always served to remind him of the incident.
As the time to Easter draws nearer, I think of the injury my father suffered and how no one moved to help him thinking he was beyond either help or hope.
I also cannot help but wonder how many people there are who do not know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
Many have not been ministered to because they have been mistakenly thought of as beyond help, beyond hope or too far gone.
No one is beyond help.
No one is beyond hope.
No one is too far gone.
Even the thief on the cross moments from death found hope in Jesus.
Luke 23:43 (NET) - And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise."
It is true that some will hear the word of God and reject it.
Yet that does not relieve those of us that believe of our responsibility to share the Good News.
The Great Commission was not an edict for a handful of people centuries ago.
It is a directive that applies to all believers even today.
Mark 16:15 (NET) - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."
Because of Jesus, no one is beyond hope.
All they need is for someone to move into action and remind them that there is hope.
You can be that someone.
Bring them to the cross.
Jesus will take it from there.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/
