Hands and Feet

This has been a bad week for me. A man I knew (he came in to the library and talked regularly) committed suicide. He spoke with me one last time two days before he drove out to the state forest and shot himself in the head with a rifle. He was worried because his unemployment had run out. I didn't know it at the time, but his landlord was also evicting him the following day. He talked to me about the Bible. He said I should buy the New American Standard Bible for my oldest son. The last thing he said to me was, "Please pray for me."

Somehow, we failed this man. He felt alone, with no place to turn. Looking back I can see that he gave numerous hints that he was in trouble. He had talked to others in the community as well. None of us picked up on his despair.

I wish we had.

This whole thing has got me really praying and meditating upon some poignant questions:

What if we stopped looking at ourselves and began looking at others instead? What if we really heard their pleas for help, silent as they might seem at the time? What if we threw away our toys and spent our time with people, investing in people, giving to people?

And here's the real question: What if we took Jesus seriously and became His hands and feet? (Matthew 25)