There are two things I hear regularly on Sunday mornings during our fellowship after the service. The first I hear directly, because people come up to me and say “Pastor Mike, if you know anyone who could use a hand, please let me know. I would love to be able to help someone out if they need it.” The second I hear indirectly, or more precisely I overhear during a conversation as I walk through the room: “I don’t think I can make it to [Insert event name here] because I don’t feel safe driving at night.”
And yet, when I ask the people who aren’t comfortable driving at night if someone could pick them up, more often than not they decline the offer and say something about not wanting to be a bother.
Siblings in Christ, please know that asking for help from your church family is never a bother. If anything, your refusal to ask for help actually hurts us. Have you ever been in a situation where you know that you could help someone you love but they won’t let you? Maybe it’s simple advice. Maybe it’s a little financial aid. Maybe it’s help getting over an addiction. Or a breakup. Or the loss of a loved one. If you’ve ever been in a situation like that, then you know how painful it is to watch someone you love suffer through something alone when you know that you could help make it better if they’d let you. And if you’ve been fortunate enough to be able to help, you also know how much joy it brings and what a blessing it is to lend a hand.
Asking for a ride when you need it may not seem like much to you. But I assure you that if you give your church family the opportunity to help, then you are giving them the great joy that comes from helping others. If you don’t, however, you are potentially hurting them. I promise you that if we hear that you weren’t able to make it to the book study, or the Fastnacht dinner, or the Wednesday Lenten services, or any other nighttime event simply because you didn’t have a ride, it will cause us pain to know how easily we could have remedied the situation. Bless us by allowing us to help. Just email office@wentzsucc.org or call the office at 610-584-4855.
Galatians 6:2
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.