Open or Closed?

A few weeks ago, my Saturday got scrambled and I found myself behind on many of the errands I needed to run. Of utmost concern to my family was the fact that the refrigerator was bare. After putting out a few of the unexpected fires for the day, I decided to hop in the car and head to Costco to get part of the grocery shopping knocked out.When I arrived, the parking lot had cars in it, but noticeably fewer than other visits. A newer Costco customer, I thought nothing of it as I watched a handful of people exiting with their carts as normal. I parked my car and headed to grab my own cart, only to discover the store had closed about ten minutes earlier. Customers were exiting, but the front door representative had no intention of letting me enter. As someone who finds far too much satisfaction in accomplishing a task, I was more than mildly disappointed.This morning, as I spent time in 1 John 3:17-18, the concept of being closed moved from a memory of inconvenient store hours to a place of conviction. I’m sure you’re eager to continue reading, knowing that same conviction could potentially leak on you! But, quite honestly, too much is at stake to not apply God’s Word to our own lives.[bctt tweet="Too much is at stake to not apply God’s Word to our own lives."]Check out these two verses:

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

As I considered these two verses, a couple of recent memories came to mind of seeing two homeless people at stop lights on two separate occasions. The first time, I made no attempt to help. I could easily justify that there are many scam artists at these corners. I could even pull the “stewardship” card and decline to help because I want to be a good steward. The second time, I felt bad after the woman walked by, so I grabbed my wallet and thought, “If she comes back before the light changes, I’ll give her some cash.”I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had this experience. For a little comfort, the fact that there was guilt and conviction reassures me that the Holy Spirit is within me. (If you haven’t felt any guilt or conviction in such circumstances, I’d encourage you to check your heart and take inventory of God’s Spirit within you.) But what are we to do? Quite honestly, we’re called to obey God’s Word. The world needs to see our love and verse 17 explains how. We mustn’t just talk about helping people; we mustn’t just say we’re going to help. We must actually love people in deed and in truth.[bctt tweet="We mustn’t just talk about helping people. We must actually love people in deed and in truth."]On a practical note, last semester one of our women’s small groups got together and each member bought non-perishable food items and some hygiene products. Together, they assembled bags and divided them among the group. Each time one of them encountered someone in need, they could love them… not just in word, but in deed.This is just one example of how we can be proactive in our love, but there are thousands of ways to apply this truth. What I know to be true is that almost every person I know has the world’s goods. May we not close our hearts to those in need.Who do you need to show love to today?Let us not love in mere words or talk, but in deed and truth.