A Quick Thought on Serving Others

Yesterday some good friends of mine celebrated the birth of their second child, a daughter.  Today I went to visit them in the hospital.  When I arrived at the hospital I had to park at the top of the parking garage.  The garage was packed with vehicles.  As I made my way to the elevator I noticed a woman dressed like a nurse or an orderly and she was pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair.  To get to the elevator we had to go through a door.  I saw the situation and held the door open for them to which she responded with kind words.

As we got onto the elevator we both realized we were going to the same floor which would open to an enclosed footbridge taking us from the parking garage over a street to the hospital building.  Again, this required going through a door.  And again I held the door open for the nurse and the elderly woman.  This time her response stuck with me.  She said, and I quote, "Thanks you so much.  We are not used to people being so helpful." 

"What?"  I said to myself.  All I did was hold open a couple doors so she could maneuver the wheelchair through a little easier.  I thought that that cannot be true.  Have we as a culture stopped simply holding doors open for people?  If this woman's statement is accurate about American society, how does this statement apply to or affect the church in America?

Hey church, we've got to get out more and get involved more.  When people see us they should see God (1 John 4:12).