20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. . . . Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,“In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:20a;6:1-2

The people of Haiti still need our help.  Please go and be an ambassador for Christ to the Haitian people.

They are not the only people, however, who need your help.  Many people you will meet this week have had their world collapse upon them through divorce, layoff, bankruptcy, illness, or death in their family.  They did not endure an earthquake like the one which hit Haiti, Mexico, or Japan but their world has collapsed upon them nonetheless.  Choose to reach out to them with Christ’s love and help them.

Before you decide too quickly that there is nothing you can do remember. . .

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer…

AND

Lazarus was dead!

So you have no more excuses!  God can, and will use you, but you must yield to His will.  Besides you aren’t the message, you are just the messenger.

The following story underscores why each of our responses when we see human need or hear error are so important.

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done

Jesus tells us a story that illustrates where our responsibility to others begins and ends.

²⁹ . . . [An expert in the Law], desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:25–37 (ESV)

In this story Jesus teaches us that the love we have for God must be reflected in the way we value and assist all those whom He places along our life’s path each and every day. This service may take the form of mending and caring for wounds, or it might be that we need to correct someone who mistreats another in our presence. Sometimes we may need to stand up for the truth of the gospel in the presence of others. Whatever the circumstances are in which we find ourselves we need to “put off” indifference and “put on” fervency.

In the Bible the word “fervent” means, always ready to speak or act. Of the 12 disciples Peter was by far the most fervent. He was constantly speaking up and taking the initiative. In the book of 1 Peter he directs Christians to “fervently love” each other.

²² Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 1 Peter 1:22 (NASB)

The idea is that Christian love is to be active. If we are to go out of our way to serve strangers on the pathways of life how much more should we be willing to be inconvenienced for brothers and sisters in Christ. Read carefully the following passage.

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.⁸ Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.⁹ Be hospitable to one another without complaint.¹⁰ As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:7–10 (NASB)

As we understand that we are either living in the end times or in the end of our time, we are to be fervently loving one another.  This fervent love will be hospitable without complaint and will utilize our spiritual gifts to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.

As we prepare our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, lets “put off” indifference and “put on” fervency whatever the circumstances whether we see strangers, friends, family or brothers and sisters in Christ in need of our assistance, advice, or admonition.