Roadside Jesus

It happens nearly every time I leave the house, regardless of how far I’m going or how long I am gone. The circumstances are almost always different, but the emotions I feel are the same every time.

I see someone on the side of the road. He is pushing his dead motorcycle. She is walking in the hot sun. He is humbly holding a cardboard sign asking for help. He is standing, thumb out, waiting for his ride. I see them, and I drive on by. I inevitably feel a tug on my heart, telling me to stop…to help…to give him a ride or offer to do something. Anything. I feel the tug and I ignore it, rationalizing all the reasons why it’s okay for me to not help.

It’s not safe. I don’t know him. I have my daughter in the car, and I can’t potentially endanger her. Their intentions might not be pure. I can justify doing something risky when it’s just me, but not her, too…..

Honestly, these are the thoughts that go through my mind. I don’t usually think of the obvious issue of giving money away when I’m living on a tight budget. I don’t usually worry about whether any money I give will go to good use. I don’t think about my time constraints or how I’m running low on gas or how my car is a mess. My mind goes to concerns of safety, both for me and for my daughter. Practical concerns, yes…..but are they right?

Jesus told us to help everyone. Jesus told us to love and help and do everything we can – even beyond what we think we can do.

[Jesus said,] “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! (Matthew 25:34-40)

Those are His commands to us….and still I drive on by. Don’t think for a second that it has never occurred to me that the man or the woman on the side of the road might be Jesus Himself. I consider that possibility every time. I consider that if it were Jesus and I stopped to help, I would be blessed for my obedience. I even consider that if it isn’t Jesus and I am obedient in trying to help, I will be protected from any evil intentions the person may have.

All of those things cross my mind and swiftly exit. I am not proud of that.

I tell myself that Jesus was speaking and preaching in a completely different time. I tell myself that the people He was speaking to never had to consider such malicious things as carjackings and kidnappings and murders, though in my heart I know that there were dangers of that time that we – in 2010 – know nothing of. I am torn between feeling justified in my inaction and feeling horribly convicted for my disobedience. Unsure what else to do, I mutter a quick prayer - “Lord, please watch over him/her. Bring him/her whatever she needs. Protect him/her. Get him/her where he/she is going safely.” I drive by, my fish decal and church sticker trailing behind me as Jesus stands on the side of the road.