It Was The Christian Thing To Do

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Text (Luke 10:36-37) “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers? “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”(The Message -Eugene H. Peterson)

Thought Starters
Good Morning! How are your Random acts of Kindness going? I have a bible story to tell you about an act of kindness. (Read or tell the children the story of “The Good Samaritan.” Luke 10:30-37)

I have another story to tell you. Listen to see if it sounds familiar. On May 30th 1998, Pentecost Sunday a little town in Michigan was hit by a storm containing “straight line winds.” It was just as bad as a tornado. Buildings damaged, trees and all the power was out.

The town and surrounding area was such a mess that they churches canceled services. Almost every street was blocked with a fallen tree. There were buildings on top of cars. Trees had fallen into people’s houses.

Clean up started that day. It was determined that a nearby lake was hit the hardest. So many trees were down. They said an average of fifty trees per house were destroyed. It didn’t take long to find out that most of the storm insurance covered removal of only one or two trees. The community had to remove the trees and parts of homes that were destroyed with very little help. They asked the city for a place to put the down trees. The city had no property available. They asked the state for a place. They had nothing.

A local farmer, Larry and Laura Engle had crops growing in their fields that year. They offered their fertile farmland closest to the damaged area as a place to dispose of the trees.

Trees, branches, other types of wood, from all over started to appear. Each family gradually cleared the trees and other damaged property away from their property and hauled it to the Engles’ field. No more corn growing, just large brush pile. The County wasn’t too excited about this huge pile growing along one of the roads. But it was a nice thing Larry and Laura Engle did to help this community.

When asked about why they did it, Mrs. Engle replied, “It was the Christian thing to do!”

What story does that sound like? Could you be a Good Samaritan too? You never know when you might have the opportunity to say, “It was the Christian thing to do!”

Hymn-”Lord Speak to Me, That I May Speak” – Francis R. Havergal

Prayer-Dear Lord, Thank you for story of The Good Samaritan. Help us to be like the Engles and do what is right for others and for your glory. Amen

by William Bode