- "Go ahead and get on the bus! I got it!" These were the words of a man who saw Treshana and I struggling with our grocery cart that may have been close to 50 pounds.The man proceeded to pick up our cart and place it in a position so that it would not roll while the bus was moving. When it was time for us to get off the bus, he made sure that Treshana and I got off with ease.
- A woman walks on the bus with 2 children in a stroller and one child in hand. While she was trying to get her money to pay, a man who was sitting in the front of the bus paid for her bus fare and moved so that the woman would have space for her stroller and children. Once she got off the bus, another stranger grabbed the older child so that the mother could wheel her stroller off of the bus.
- "Man, you just blessed my life!" The young man just received a $10 giftcard to Subway from a random woman on the bus. As the young man and his friend exited the bus, the generous woman said "Y'all be good and stay safe."
It truly doesn't take much to make someone else's life a little bit easier or a little bit better. I've seen so much generosity I began to wonder why people are so quick to help one another, so quick to give. The best answer I could come up with is proximity.The givers were close. Those who were on the giving end were not outsiders who "felt bad" for the people struggling. They were very much having the same experience as the one's they were seeking to help. The givers were relying on public transportation, lived in the same neighborhoods, trying to take it one day at a time. I would imagine the givers saying to themselves, "Let me do what I can because I know. I know that struggle. I've been there before myself." Because of that perspective, stepping up to help someone was easy and done without hesitation.
What The Word Say?
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2: 3 - 11
Jesus was the ultimate example of what it looked like to "be close." God came to earth in the form of a man to live as the one's he sought to save. But why is it important that God came in the likeness of man? Well there are possibly many answers to that question but for the purposes of this blog I'll give one answer. Better yet, I'll just give a scripture.
"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
Hebrews 2: 14 - 18
Moral of the story: it makes a difference when you are close. So get close.
