Mom and I were parked in the driveway of Dad’s workplace waiting for him, our vision blurred by the pouring rain. Eager to go home and hungry after a long day at work, I turned toward the back seat to grab my snack. Something in the middle of the road caught my eyes: an old man walking his bike with a plastic bag hanging off the handle. He kept slanting as if the earth had tipped on one side. “That man is drunk,” I thought to myself. I turned to Mom, pointing to where the man was. “He is going to get himself killed on the road. Look what alcohol has done to him.” We continued looking at him as cars passed by, the drivers slowing down and honking their horns in frustration, yelling for him to move out of the way.

Dad approached the door, and suddenly I had a strange feeling. “Dad, I think you need to help this man on the road. He is going to get hurt.” He agreed and ran to him, grabbed the bike with one hand, the old man’s hand with the other, and brought him to safety under a shed nearby. Dad began to talk to him then came running back to us. “Do you have any water in the car? This man has diabetes and his sugar level fell. He just came back from the hospital and needs to take his medication that’s in the plastic bag.”

My heart fell to my feet and my eyes began to fill with tears. I had judged this man’s actions before I understood what his struggles were.

This gentleman can remind us of all the broken people in this world. I, and the people who passed and yelled at him, represent judgement. We judged him before taking the time to have a conversation with him, to understand what he was struggling with. When we are broken, unfortunately there is often a crowd who will pick apart all our imperfections. Others will see our life falling apart like the old man was and assume we are just another person who needs to figure out life on our own.

A lot of people are crying out for help. As followers of Christ, our priority is to point people to Jesus and help them in their place of brokenness. God never called us to be alone. He created Eve for Adam (Genesis 2:18). He even instructed that the animals in Noah’s ark come in twos (Genesis 7:9). Most importantly, He gave us Jesus, the One we can run to for all our needs. We are called to lift each other up and guide each other to a safe place in Jesus.

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