“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).1
Sarah watched the traffic move slowly past the window of her dad’s truck. How is it possible? she thought with a frown. There are so many people, and I’m just one little girl.
Dad opened the driver-side door of the pickup truck and dropped a bag of groceries onto the seat beside her. Then he climbed in and buckled his seat belt. “Are you hungry for vegetable stew?” he asked with a smile lighting his work-tanned face. “Your mom asked me to pick up lots of yummy carrots, peas, and broccoli at the store, so I’m thinking delicious vegetable stew with freshly baked bread for supper. I even bought some apples and bananas for dessert.”
He started the engine and eased the vehicle into the stream of traffic. Sarah smiled. “Yes, I like stew,” she said quietly, then turned back to the cars and people slipping past the window.
“You OK?” her dad asked, glancing in her direction. “You look serious. You’re not your usual talkative self.”
Sarah shook her head. “I’m fine. I just don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
The girl looked over at her father. “The preacher at church last Sabbath said that we should take God’s love to everyone in all the world. Remember? He said, ‘Go to all the world!’” She paused. “But I’m just one little girl. I’m just me. How am I supposed to do what the preacher said?”
Dad nodded slowly. “Good point,” he stated. “The world is a pretty big place, with millions and millions of people in it. Everyone is busy going here and there, working hard, trying to stay alive, fighting diseases, protecting themselves and their families from harm. How are we supposed to help that?”
Suddenly Dad steered the truck to the curb. “I’ll be right back,” he said. Sarah watched him grab a sack of apples from the grocery bag and hurry away to a man standing by the road with a sign that read, “I’m hungry. Please help.”
A few minutes later Dad stopped the truck again and jumped out. He hurried to a woman in a wheelchair waiting to cross the street. He guided her from one side to the other, making sure she arrived safely.
Then he waved and smiled at a man sitting on a park bench with a sad look on his face. The man smiled back with a wave.
When Dad returned to the truck, Sarah grinned, “OK, OK, I get it,” she said. “The world includes the people all around us, right? I can help the people just beyond my window.”
Dad smiled. “And you know what goes good with loving service?”
Father and daughter spoke together with smiles lighting their faces. “Vegetable stew!”
Getting Ready to Go
Start a list this week of how you can help people. Then get busy taking God’s love to them. Remember, no act of kindness is too small. In their world it may be huge!
1 Unless otherwise noted, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.
2 Texts credited to NIV are from the New International Version.
