Daily Power #298

Love one another . . . Outdo one another in showing honor. (Rom. 12:10 ESV)

As a young pastor, I learned so much about ministry from an older lady named Lana. She knocked on our church door one day, and I felt moved to take personal responsibility for helping her. I recruited some other church members, and we spent several days addressing each of her critical needs. We helped her get cleaned up, got her into some clean, comfortable clothes, and got her some medical attention for her skin infections.

As we had the honor of serving Lana, she became more and more open to talking about spiritual issues. She had sold her body for money, and she carried more guilt than I was comfortable imagining. But the grace of Jesus swept her away. Lana cried out to him for mercy, asking him to make her his disciple.

By God’s grace, Lana remained sober, found work, and got her own place. Amy and I threw her a housewarming party, and I’ve never known anyone to be as proud of their home. When we didn’t hear from her in several days, we went to check on her and confirmed our worst fears. Suffering from significant health issues, Lana had passed away.

I was sad that day, but not so much for Lana. She had met Jesus. Her suffering was over. Now she was with him. I was sad for the rest of us. Lana gave us a reason to get out of our comfortable lives. She taught us how to love someone most other people wouldn’t even touch. She gave us the gift of giving our lives to serve her.

Lana helped grow my faith. Because of Lana, I realized that serving isn’t something we do. A servant is who we’re called to be.

Power Lift

Take me out of my comfort zone today, Lord, so I might receive the blessing of serving those in need around me.