How Far Would You Go To Help Someone?

Posted by Scott Williams
3 Comments
July 14, 2010
Jesus | Life Application

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How Far Would You Go To Help Someone?

A young man worked the front desk at a local hotel when a couple entered around 1am.  They were soaking wet from the thunderstorm that welcomed them to the city.  The couple approached the front desk for a room, only to be told that the hotel was sold out for the evening.  The young man stepped up by saying that he lived at the hotel, and would be glad to give them his room.  The couple said that would not be necessary, but the young man insisted.

The following morning, the couple came down after resting well to find the young man still working at the front desk.  The husband said to the young man, “If I ever own a hotel, I want you to run it.”  The couple left.

A number of years passed, until one day the young man received a letter from the man that he helped some time ago.  The letter was inviting the young man to run his hotel he now owned.  The name of that hotel?  The famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

It pays to serve sacrificially and extravagantly.

How much more joy do we bring to Jesus when we best demonstrate His example by taking care of others.

We have the opportunity…the compelling pull to be aware of others and then do something about meeting their need.  We have those moments to serve them sacrificially and extravagantly.

I love the story in Mark 2:1-12.

Four guys saw a paralyzed guy that desperately needed help getting to Jesus to be healed.  They did the work.  Even with the odds stacked against them, they created a way to make this moment happen.  The paralyzed guy was healed.  People were amazed at what Jesus did.  They set out talking about it.

After reading this story, I asked, “How far would I go to help someone?”  So, I ask you the same question.

Quick Takeaways from the story:

  • They paid attention to people in need.
  • They served sacrificially and extravagantly.
  • They actually believed Jesus could change heal him.
  • They demonstrated faith that positively changed someone’s life.
  • They experienced that understanding that teamwork makes the dream work.
  • They created an opportunity for people to be amazed at the work of Jesus.

When we decide to embrace the unexpected, the interruptions, and the unlikely moments, it is then that people will have such an experience that they say, “We have never seen anything like this.”

How far would we go to help someone?

  • http://www.marcmillan.com Marc Millan

    That is an amazing story about the hotel. True story, I believe it lines up with your theme of helping and serving others, which God has been deeply teaching me the last 2 years. Went running today and heard God’s voice say” you have extra bread and food at home, pack some and take it with you when you leave the house”….I heard it, I said yes…kept running.
    Got home, ate, etc, was in my car, on the driveway backing up already, I had forgotten to take the food, heard the voice again….I had to shut off the car, walk back in, packed two separate bagels and two slices of cheese in each pack.
    I took the long way to work and not within 3 lights into my drive saw a man standing with a sign “food, change, anything helps” I honked, he came over running, I gave him a sandwich and told him Jesus loves him and he smiled at me just said thank you, but it was I who said thank you to God the whole ride to work over and over.
    M_

  • http://modernreject.com Modern Reject

    Great post and topic. The account in Mark 2 is one of my favorites within the Gospels. What these men did, who I believe were friends of the paraplegic, was ask themselves “What have we NOT done, yet? How can we place our friend at Jesus feet?”

    They were creative and even risky in their effort to help their friend. Removing the roof of a house and then lowering the man down, is no small task nor is it the “safe” thing to do.

    And the kicker is this: The paralyzed man was healed because of his friends faith, not his own. The four men had enough faith in Christ to heal another person altogether. May my willingness to help others be filled with that kind of creativity, risk taking and bona fide faith.

  • http://www.jasonyounglive.com Jason Young

    love the comments from you two. this story challenges me everyday. i constantly ask myself, how far would i go to help someone? i remember craig groeschel saying, we must do things nobody else is doing to reach people nobody else is reaching. i think we can do this effectively when we challenge ourselves to help someone and then go one step further.

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