It may seem like a small distinction. But I think it has impact. 

 

There are times when we inconvenience ourselves for the people we love. It is part of the script, really, to endure interrupted sleep, and to spend money on the whims of our children. 

 

But then there are instances where one soul gives of their time and resources for another. Recently I heard of an offer to take a friend to the airport before the sun comes up. I participated in two meal trains last week... one for a family welcoming a new baby and another for a woman recovering from surgery. At the Thanksgiving service I will attend on Thursday eight dozen kind people will take the word service to a new level by setting up chairs, creating musical offerings, filling baskets of fruit for those families who have lost someone recently, or directing cars in the parking lot. 

 

After church there will be a web of homes whose doors are thrown open not only for immediate brothers and sisters, but for distant relatives, neighbors, and friends of friends who might find themselves otherwise alone. They will pass the dessert, and refill mugs of coffee not from duty, but from generosity.

 

God seems to unobtrusively drop such opportunities in our laps, when we are otherwise distracted. It may seem like a detour from the important business of our routine, but then again it may be the main event. 

 

 

 ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’  Matthew 25