W7: Kindness and Generosity

Aaron, Charlie, Jake, and More

It has been a long, hot week. I’ve walked past so many great places to pitch my tent… at 11:00 AM or 2:40 PM… and found it so hard to find a safe, comfortable, and level place to spend the night as the sun fades at the end of each day. But it has also been a week of blessings, miracles, and amazing circumstances. And each one has had a name. Aaron, who had made a “front deck” from the concrete foundation of his original house which burned down years ago, who welcomed me even though the sign on his “porch” read “Private Property — No Trespassing”. Charlie, who drove past me on SC 170 until she came to a Parkers Kitchen where she stopped, bought hot food and cold water, and then turned around to come back to give them to me. Jake, who saw me walk into a convenience store, so he pulled into the gas pumps and waited for me to come out so that he could hand me $10 and wished me God’s safety on my journey. A young woman who didn’t give me her name, but who pulled onto the shoulder to see if I needed a ride, and who told me that she never pulls over for anyone but who felt the urge to pull over for me. I didn’t need a ride, but when I told her that this walk is all about me sharing my love for Jesus, she exclaimed, “That’s what I was going to say to you! We prayed for each other, she prayed for my journey, and I prayed for her faith and walk with Jesus to be richly rewarded. Robert, Jalla, the church elders who paid for a night at a motel for me so that I could get a much needed shower, and so many others. God has richly blessed me, answering prayers for finances, health, safety, and recovery from aches and fatigue.

 

Goats and Sheep

As I’ve walked north through South Carolina, I have been culturally shocked at how few Caucasians and how many Black and Hispanic citizens live here. And the treatment I’ve received? The only hostile or critical reactions I’ve gotten have come from the Caucasians. The Black people in particular have been warm, friendly, helpful, generous. One could expect to encounter one bad apple in a bushel, but no! I have not witnessed nor been the target of a single incident of reverse racism. In fact, it seems that only Caucasians, especially white politicians, remember or foster the hate, bigotry, and shameful treatment our black population has had to put up with.

 

Of all the people who have stopped of their own accord to give me food, water, money, conversation, encouragement, and well wishes, only one has not been Black. To all of you who have helped me, and I hope that all of you are following this blog, I want to say this: YOU are the ones Jesus is speaking to in Matthew 25:31-40

^31-33 When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

 

^34-36 Then the King will say to those on his right, “Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

 

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.”

 

^37-39 Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, “Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?”

 

⁴⁰ Then the King will say, “I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.”

The Message Bible (MSG), Matt. 25:31-40