FanStory.com - Now is the Time to Shineby T B Botts

I suppose one would have to be living under a rock to be unaware of the devastation that the most recent hurricane did to the Southeastern United States about a week ago. One of the hardest hit areas was Asheville, North Carolina, where something like thirty inches of rain fell in the mountains in twenty four hours, leaving an apocalyptic landscape behind.

For as long as man has been on the earth there have been natural disasters, and if you haven't lived through one yet, there is a chance, and perhaps a good one, of experiencing one in your lifetime. Regardless of where we live, we either experience drought, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides or earthquakes or perhaps other catastrophes that aren't mentioned here.

The point I'm trying to make is that none of us is exempt, and while we can watch the news of disasters in a place far away and be glad that it didn't happen to us, we're left with an opportunity to help those in need.

I'm reminded of the passage in the bible-Luke 10:29. It's the story of the Good Samaritan. When Jesus was asked by a fellow wanting to justify himself who his neighbor was, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. In a nutshell, a man was traveling on the road to Jericho when he was set upon by robbers who beat him and took everything he had. A priest walked by, and passed by the man, and the same thing happened with another religious man, a Levite. However, when a Samaritan came by, a person who was despised by the Jews, he had compassion on the man and not only bandaged him up, but took him to an inn and paid for his care.

In some ways the folks in Asheville and other towns up and down the East coast are like that man who was beat up and robbed of everything. Can you imagine not only losing your home, but everything that was in it, needed to sustain everyday life? I suspect that many people won't even have a job to go to because the place where they worked was destroyed. It's going to take a long time for things to get back to some semblance of normal, and the government can't be counted on to help very much. It's going to take the compassion of every day Americans to step up to the plate and help our neighbors who are suffering such need.

I know that folks on Fan Story are compassionate. When one of our members suffers the loss of a spouse, or is in the hospital or is sick, many of us send good wishes and prayers their way. I know I do, and in some instances that is what needs done. However, I'm reminded of another biblical passage where the apostle James says, in essence, if anyone sees a brother naked and hungry and says " go, be warmed and fed", but doesn't extend a hand to help them, what good is it? As he so aptly says, faith without works is dead. We still need to pray for those in need. Who knows how God will answer our prayers? However, we might be the answer to someone else's prayer when we're faithful and extend a helping hand financially. There are a number of good charities that are already on scene helping. Samaritan's Purse comes to mind, as well as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

I hope that each of us will search our hearts and see what we can give, knowing full well that it might be us in need next time.