“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little one
because
he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his
reward.”
- Matthew 10:42
Last Monday—after waiting in line for over an hour for toilet paper at Target—I
found myself longing to return to the big box store later that day. Why? Am I a
glutton for punishment? No. I wanted to return to the hullaballoo because of
the amazing thing God had taught me while I was there.
Shortly
before 7 a.m., I arrived at the Apple Valley Super Target, and I took my place
in line outside the store. There were about 50 people lined up in front of me.
I said to myself, “Under the circumstances, this line isn’t that bad.” But
after entering the store, grabbing a shopping cart, and making my way to the
toilet paper aisle, I learned that there was a second line forming inside the
store. Of the 50 people who had been ahead of me in line outside, around 40 of
them had already formed a line for toilet paper inside.
And
wouldn’t you know it! The line was at a standstill. There wasn’t a single
package of toilet paper on the shelves, but the Target team members assured us
that toilet paper would be trickling in as it arrived. So, we waited. And
waited. And waited.
Surprisingly,
the one-hour wait was quite entertaining. The two young ladies in front of me
in line were wearing double-barreled gas masks and giggling as they held up
their cell phones to take selfies and make video calls to their boyfriends. And
after a few minutes in line, I turned around and began talking with the
middle-aged man standing behind me as well as the two chatty ladies in line
behind him. It quickly became clear that these two ladies were strong
Christians who attended church regularly and trusted in Jesus Christ to see
them through these troubled times.
After about
ten minutes in the standstill line, I thought to myself, “I might as well get
some other shopping done.” So, I asked my three new friends in line if they’d
mind holding my place for me while I grabbed some eggs. They quickly agreed, so
I offered to grab some eggs for them as well. After a few minutes I returned to
my cart---still no movement in the line. So, I left the line a second time to
grab a few more items. Over the next 40 minutes I left the line an additional
three or four times.
Finally, I
reached the front of the toilet paper line, and there was just one package
left. I felt bad taking the last package, because I knew that the man behind me
in line had been, like me, waiting for an hour. And I knew that he had an
appointment to get to, and he wouldn’t have time to wait the 20-30 minutes for
the next shipment to arrive.
So, without
giving it much thought, I tore open my newly-acquired package of toilet paper
and gave him a couple rolls. You wouldn’t believe the sounds of shock that came
from the crowd behind me. It was as if I had just handed him two gold bars. The
man offered to pay me for the entire package, but I said, “Don’t worry about
it!” as I made my way to the checkout line.
After waiting
in the checkout line for a minute or two, a Target manager asked me to step
into a closed checkout line, and she began to ring me up. She said, “I saw what
you did. Thank you for taking care of one of our guests.” I stood there in
disbelief as she gave me free plastic bags for my groceries, plus a 10%
discount on my entire order.
As I pushed
my cart out the door, tears welled up in my eyes. The
Lord had revealed to me this simple truth: During this coronavirus pandemic—as
millions of our fellow Americans are running around in fear like chickens with
their heads cut off—simple acts of kindness will carry a much greater impact
than usual. As followers of Jesus Christ head to Target, WalMart, Costco,
Stater Bros., and WinCo and carry out simple acts of kindness and love in
Jesus’ name, people’s hearts will be touched in a way that they wouldn’t
normally be touched.
Never
forget, followers of Christ, that God never wastes anything. On so many
different levels, this coronavirus pandemic is a stress-producing nightmare.
But we serve a God who specializes in bringing life and goodness out of the
ashes. We serve a God who works “all things together for good for those who
love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
So, in the
days to come—as you venture out from your home and cross the paths of perfect
strangers at the store, at work, or at your favorite drive-thru—please be kind.
Be compassionate. Be patient. And allow every word that you speak and every
action you carry out to communicate this peace-giving message: “It’s going to
be okay. If we trust in God, He will see us through.”
Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact
Christian Church. During this COVID-19 outbreak, please join us for our online
worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. Simply go to www.GreaterImpact.cc to view the service
on our homepage.
♥️♥️♥️
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