Crazy Enough?

He was walking along the side of the 4-lane highway.  Stiff-legged and unkempt, he carried no sack, box or baggage. 

Call me crazy. 
But what if we learned to love our brother for nothing in return.
Oh how the rules would change.

The four of us in the car were silenced by his sudden appearance.  Our week's vacation at the beach was at an end, and we were headed to drop off our friends at the airport.  The vehicle was packed tighter than sardines in a tin.  Between my friend and me in the rear seat sat two suitcases which cushioned us enough that a collision would not have harmed us, had that happened.  We had struggled to even buckle up our safety belts as we left the condo a few miles back.

The front seat was equally tight with one suitcase between my husband and friend and another on the floor of the passenger side.  We were insulated, to say the least.

And then this lonely figure appeared at the side of the roadway.  After we found our voices, we wondered aloud where he had been and where he might be headed.  The day was young, but the heat index was climbing steadily already.  Did we have room in our little sedan?  No, for sure we did not.  And we actually made a couple of bad jokes about who could ride on top in order to make a space for the man in our vehicle.

We were in the lane toward the center line as we stopped for the red traffic signal.  The walking traveler was coming up on our right with the other lane of traffic between us.

Then the impossible happened.  A silver Lexus that was slightly ahead of us in the far right lane, backed up.  And as we glanced in that direction, he reached over to open the passenger door for the walker.  I had a bird's eye view of the fleeting scene.

Reaching out to the ones who need help.
Treating them as you first would treat yourself.
Now that would be insane.

The driver, dressed in a fine suit of clothes, sported three gold and diamond rings on his left hand that rested on the steering wheel.  And when he opened that door for the walking traveler, the look on the face of that man was one of disbelief, as if to say, "Really? You're stopping for ME?"

My friend closest to the other car commented that the walker was wearing a hospital ID bracelet on his wrist.  Surely he wasn't just released from some facility? How far did he have to go?  We discussed these abstract possibilities, and came to the conclusion that perhaps that ID bracelet was the only item on his person that correctly identified him.  If he came on a difficult situation, his name would be known to authorities.

The traffic signal turned to green and we proceeded to turn left as the Lexus continued straight ahead in its lane.

This brief encounter has caused me to think deeply about how I reach out - our fail to reach out - to those in obvious need.

Would we have even considered for a moment stopping to help this walking stranger IF the car had not been packed to tightly?

I can answer that question: No.  In our middle class lives, we have become jaded.  We hear stories and see situations unfold that dictate our behavior. 

It's just too risky.
What if he's a con artist?
What if he's a serial killer?
What if.........?

It may just be crazy enough to work if we could only love.
What if we somehow changed the world?
Is it so strange to think that one day we will truly see everyone the same?
Oh, could we be so kind.
To sing along when life's playing their tune.
And cry with them when their heaert's broken in two.
Have I lost my mind?
It may just be crazy enought to work if we could only love.
What if we somehow changed the world?
It may just ge crazy enough.
Oh, have I gone made believing that love still has a chance?
It may just be crazy enough.

It may just be crazy enough... to walk in someone else's shoes...
To stoop down instead of looking down...
To listen with our hearts instead of our ears...
To risk for the cause of Christ...

What if?

(Lyrics: copyright 2010 Simpleville Music & Wet As A Fish Music; words and music by Mercy Me)