Life is a puzzle. Bad things are happening to people all around us. There are those that we feel might deserve much that happens to them, however, in the end I often find myself feeling sympathetic towards even the worst offenders. The difficult ones to unravel are the reasons behind events that have little apparent good or bad to them.
I wonder sometimes if I should bother with the unknown. The process is often a headache in the making, with little that is certain in the end. Should I dig into the event to see if the person on the corner is really dealing with a problem in life? Do I confront the person who continues to innocently hurt the person sitting at the desk near mine? Will I take a stand against every bit of gossip or innuendo? What if I am certain that the facts are true, do this really change anything?
I can confess that I worry a lot about the wide range of things. Will the opportunities I hold to be true be understood by people who could easily see them as major points of disruption and risk? Can I do anything to help the people that I hold precious and close? What, if anything, should I do for the person’s soul that is at risk, especially if they do not know it?
In all puzzles, there is a simple Y at the beginning. Do I do it on my own or get help?
I know that I cannot solve the riddle of how to help those who I hold special. I am even more puzzled as to how I can do something for the stranger I meet on the street. In the end, there is only one solution, get help, real help and quick.
Help comes from God. My prayer is this; “may our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.” (Romans 15.6) This is the start, for all of us.
