The Human Equation

Mamie made frequent trips to the branch post office. One day she confronted a long line of people who were waiting for service from the postal clerks. Mamie only needed stamps, so a helpful observer asked, “Why don’t you use the stamp machine? You can get all the stamps you need and you won’t have to stand in line.” “I know,” said Mamie, ‘but the machine won’t ask me about my arthritis.

”There is a human equation in life – caring concern for people and their needs. In many ways we are all like Mamie. As a matter of fact, I think that God made us that way! We all need someone to care about us, to be interested in our lives and needs, and to walk through the journey of life with us – not trying to “fix” us, or our problems, but simply to be there for us and point us to Christ.

Jesus would always model for His disciples the character traits He was teaching them. We see this care modeled by Jesus in Mark 9 - as He deals with needs, egos, and self-interests - He teaches His followers to look out for, and care for, the needs of others. As disciples, we learn to live as a follower of Christ—a life of caring concern for those around us.

When sin creeps into our life, we most often replace care with prideful pursuit, prestige, power, and premature judgment of others. Examine your life. How is God drawing you close – and leading you to care for the needs of others?