Some years ago when I pastored a Church, a lame man joined us for worship. Lame in both legs, he could walk only with his bent knees and hands (very difficult to explain it in words). Yet he would join us for the Wednesday meetings and Sunday worship. Those days we had our church on the 3rd floor and he walked it up on all 4 limbs as there was no lift in the building. The only problem was that I had to continually support him financially. He had no job which was not unusual considering his bodily condition yet with all the financial burdens that I bore during those days, this was an added burden. His spiritual growth was not good either and this made me more apprehensive in supporting him. Sometimes I was not happy that I had to give him money each week but I did it because he had no other means of earnings.
There was a great tussle going on inside of me for some time as I was not able to decide whether to continue to help him thus, even when he wasn’t really accepting the gospel truths that I was telling him. Then one night the Lord spoke to me in a dream. He showed me carrying this man on my shoulder and walking along a narrow path. The man seemed to be relieved that there was someone to care for him. His weight seemed to be a burden on my body and I shift him from one shoulder to another. Initially I find difficulty in praising the Lord while carrying him, but then after a while I start praising the Lord and walk on, not putting him down even though I was in discomfort.
Through this dream the Lord was indicating that I should take care of this man, though he may cause discomfort to me and be a burden. I needed to praise God even in this circumstance.
Living out the gospel is so different from preaching eloquent sermons. Sometimes believers wish that there was no 2nd mile to walk. But the reality is that, that is when the Lord is really pleased with us.
May God give us the grace to walk the 2nd mile.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35).
