For a little while on a Wednesday afternoon two years ago (July 2017), customers at an ATM in Corpus Christi, Texas, got a curious extra with their cash. Along with a receipt detailing their transaction, they got a little hand-written note.
A contractor had been installing a new lock on the service room of a Bank of America ATM. Trouble is, the man left his phone in his truck. So when the door closed behind him and got stuck, he had no one to call and no way to make his voice heard intelligibly through the machine.
The trapped man did have paper and pen, however.
“So people are coming by and using the ATM machine because it's still operational,” a local police officer explained, “and he's slipping notes through the ATM, through where you would get your receipt.”
“Please help,” one note read. “I'm stuck in here and I don't have my phone. Please call my boss.”
Customer after customer assumed — quite understandably — that the notes had to be a prank.
Eventually, a good Samaritan took the situation seriously and contacted the cops. However, the officers first on the scene thought it was a prank, too.
One of the officers said, “We come out here, and sure enough, we can hear a little voice coming from the machine. So we're all thinking this is a joke — this has got to be a joke.”
But after passing some shouts back and forth, the officers went around and busted down the problematic door. And because no crime was committed, the man was not only free, but he also was free to go. (Colin Dwyer, “Texas Police Make Odd Withdrawal from ATM: A Man Who Was Trapped Inside,” NPR: The Two-Way, 7-13-17; www.PreachingToday.com)
That story describes the condition of so many people in our world. They’re trapped and crying out for help, but they’re not taken seriously.
However, you can provide an oasis of love for people like that. You can be the “Good Samaritan” that God uses to set people free. Do you want to know how? Then turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John 3, 1 John 3, where God’s Word shows us how.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (ESV)
Love is foundational to the Christian faith.
1 John 3:12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. (ESV)
Cain was the first murderer in the Bible (Genesis 4). He killed his brother, Abel, because Abel brought a better sacrifice than he. (Let me tell you: the worship wars go way back!) Genesis 4 says Abel came to worship with “the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.” In other words, Abel came with the best that he had. Cain came to worship with some fruit that he had picked up off the ground. Well, as you can imagine, God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s, and that made Cain mad. He was jealous, and that jealousy drove him to murder.
There are a lot of things that make people mad. Sometimes, it’s your own guilt in the face of someone whose actions show yours to be substandard – like Cain. Or sometimes, the anger seems justified, because you have been truly wronged. In either case, God warns...
DON’T HATE LIKE CAIN.
Don’t let your anger drive you to murderous thoughts and deeds. Don’t let your anger give Satan an opportunity to wreak havoc in your life and relationships.
1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. (ESV)
To be sure, people will hate you, but don’t respond in kind. Don’t act in hatred like Cain. Don’t let your anger become destructive.
Joanne Hunter of Presque Island, Maine, talks about her two grandsons when they had discovered a new word to use when upset with each other. Their mother was shopping with them when suddenly they became angry with each other. “I hate you!” and “I hate you, too!” they yelled back and forth.
“That's not very nice,” their mother said. “I'm certainly not going to take two little boys who hate each other to McDonald's for lunch.”
Five-year-old Jamie quickly backed down. “I don't really hate you, Billy.”
But Billy, with the clear logic of a 3-year-old, responded, “I still hate you! I'm not hungry.” (Joanne H. Hunter, Presque Island, ME, Christian Reader, “Lite Fare;” www.PreachingToday.com)
We laugh at that, but it’s very serious. To hang on to your hate can be very destructive.
So don’t act in hatred like Cain, and.. don’t live in hatred like Cain, as well. Don’t dwell in an atmosphere of animosity and death.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides [or dwells] in death. (ESV)
You have a choice as a believer. You can choose to dwell in life, or you can choose to dwell in death. What’s it going to be for you?
If you choose to love when the world hates you, then you have chosen to be truly alive! But if you choose not to love, then you are dwelling in death. Your zest for life dies. Your relationships die; and eventually, your spirit dies, as well.
So don’t act in hated. Don’t live in hatred, and don’t die in hatred like Cain.
1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding [or dwelling] in him. (ESV)
The one who hates his brother is a living morgue – He is full of death, bringing death to others. “He is a murderer!” the text says. You see, murder and hatred go hand in hand. Murder is just the outward act of an inward hateful attitude.
This is what Jesus said about it in Matthew 5: You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment (Matthew 5:21-22).
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). When talking about a man with “an evil eye,” Proverbs 23 says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).
It’s not your actions on the outside that define who you are. It’s what you’re thinking on the inside; it’s your attitude. So watch your attitude. Don’t dwell on the hate so long that it kills you and those around you.
In the fall of 2002, Rick Garmon's daughter, Katie, became a victim of date rape. She was 18 years old at the time and a freshman in college. Too humiliated to speak about what had happened – even with her family – Katie switched schools and attempted to move on with her life.
However, the scars of that traumatic event began to fester. Over the next 14 months, she withdrew from her family and friends. She developed an eating disorder and began losing weight. Finally confronted by her mother, Julie, Katie confessed the truth. Fortunately, after a year of fervent prayer and support, Katie was able to overcome the pain and return to a normal life.
Unfortunately, Katie was not the only one struggling with inner demons during that year. Her father was fighting his own battle against the desire for revenge at any cost. In fact, as soon as he heard the news, Rick Garmon developed a plan to kill the man who had so deeply wounded his daughter. Here is his story in his own words:
I pulled back from Julie and everybody else. Get up, go to work, think about the plan, try to forget, go home, try to go to sleep, dream the plan. I plotted to drive through the campus and use my Smith and Wesson .243 caliber, bolt-action rifle…. I'd sit in the parking lot as long as necessary until he walked by. Then I could get it out of my head, and Katie could start eating again.
Katie came home for the weekend two months after the truth came out. It tore me up to see her. She and I didn't talk much anymore. I missed watching the Atlanta Braves with her. I missed laughing with her. I just plain missed her….
Julie tried to tempt her with a great meal on Saturday. Sitting across from Katie, I kept my eyes on my food. It felt as though we lived in a funeral home. The only sounds were clanking of silverware and the clinking of ice. I couldn't take the phoniness. I slammed my chair to the table and took off to my room in the basement. I'd spent a lot of time down there in my getaway room of guns and the sports channel. Methodically, I started cleaning the rifle I'd use.
Then I heard [my son] Thomas trotting downstairs. “Whatcha doing, Dad?” I kept on cleaning and never looked at him. I rocked in my recliner with the gun across my lap.
“Can I help you clean?” I didn't say a word. “You going hunting?” I looked up at him, his eyes so brown they looked almost black, just like mine. He stood inches from my knees. His hair, cut to match a G. I. Joe flattop, just like mine. I kept my gaze on my son and moved the red rag around in circles.
Our eyes met. Thomas's eyes brimmed with tears. He knows. Dear, God. I think my son knows my plan.
I stopped polishing the gun and laid it on the floor by the chair. “Come here, boy. Give your daddy a hug.” He wrapped his arms around me tight as a cobra. Thomas's love was somehow stronger than my hatred. His hug began to crumble my rage like a sledgehammer breaking a wall. Chip by chip.
Sweet Jesus, what have I been thinking? My job's not finished. Forgive me. Thomas isn't raised. If I go to jail, he won't have a father. God, help me.
Locking the gun in the cabinet, I made a choice to forgive. God, I gotta let go of this hate. It's killing me. The decision started in my head, not from any feeling. Swallowing back tears, Thomas and I walked upstairs together, my arm on his shoulder.
I came so close. (Rick Garmon, “My Secret Hate,” Today's Christian, May/June 2006, p. 35-36; www.PreachingToday.com)
Rick was living and dying in hate until he chose to forgive, and he certainly was not helping his daughter. Please, if you’re living in hate, let it go before it kills you. Make the choice to forgive. Let God put His arms around you, and let His love crumble your rage like a sledgehammer breaking a wall.
If you want to be used of God to set people free, don’t hate like Cain. Instead...
LOVE LIKE CHRIST.
Care as He cared. Give as he gave.
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (ESV)
Christ gave His life for us. That’s what John 3:16 is all about: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 talks about God giving sacrificially wo we could have eternal life simply through faith in Him.
Well, FIRST John 3:16 is the practical application of John 3:16 to our lives. Since Christ gave His life for us, we ought to give our lives for our brothers. Christ sets the example for us, His followers, but He also provides the energy to do it as we depend on Him.
So if you want to create an oasis of love in a hostile world, if you want God to use you to set people free, then give yourself like Christ gave Himself. In dependence upon Christ, sacrifice yourself like He did. It’s what following Jesus is all about!
In his book, Giving It All Away, David Green illustrates the goal of life for every believer:
Some people act like life is an oversized game of Monopoly, where the way to win is to accumulate as many properties as you can, either by purchasing outright or by clever trading with your opponents. Then you keep adding houses and hotels, extracting rent from the others, until you eventually drive them into bankruptcy. You sit back, rub your hands together, and start counting your stacks of cash.
No, life is more like Uno or Crazy Eights, where the point is to run out of cards first. You want to deploy every card you have, knowing that each card left in your hand at the end counts against you. Don't get stuck at the time of your funeral with leftover cards! (David Green, Giving It All Away, Zondervan, 2017, p.151; www.PreachingToday.com)
Give yourself like Christ gave Himself, and give yourself with compassion. Open your heart to people.
1 John 3:17 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? (ESV)
You cannot open your heart to God and close it to people at the same time. If you truly love God, you WILL love people. The two go hand-in-hand.
Ed Salmon, a pastor from South Carolina, talked about a time he went out for lunch and ran across a homeless man in Forest Park. He was terribly disheveled, standing there with his sign, “I'm homeless.” As he passed by one car after another, nobody looked at him. Then he got to Pastor Salmon’s car. Pastor Salmon rolled down the window and said, “I don't have any money with me, but my wife is going to take me to the airport in about an hour and a half, and I'll have something for you then.”
And do you know what the homeless man said to Pastor Salmon? He said, “Thank you for looking at me.” He didn't say a word about money. He said, "Thank you for looking at me." (Sarah Condon, “Heaven Side Encouragement for Earth Side Ministry: A Remembrance of Ed Salmon,” Mockingbird blog, 6-13-17; www.PreachingToday.com)
Sometimes, it’s easy to throw money at a problem, but that’s not true love. Instead, take the time to look at someone, to really connect with people in need. Open your heart to people. THEN give what you can.
Give yourself with compassion, and do something. Don’t just say you love; show it!
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (ESV)
True love acts; it doesn’t just talk.
Peter Kreeft, a Christian apologist, once described a cartoon with two turtles. One says, “Sometimes I’d like to ask God why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when He could do something about it.”
The other turtle says, “I’m afraid God might ask me the same question.” (Peter John Kreeft, quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith, Zondervan, 2001, p.50).
You see, it’s not enough to talk about love, God calls us to do something about it. He wants us to reach out in practical ways to those in need.
The Bosnian War during the early 1990s pitted Bosnian Serbs against Muslims, making the sides bitter enemies. But after the war, journalist Chris Hedges heard a story of unusual kindness in the midst of savagery. Rosa and Drago Sorak, a Bosnian Serb couple, told Hedges that during the war the Muslim police took their oldest son, Zoran, away for questioning. He never returned.
Five months after Zoran's disappearance, his wife gave birth to a girl. The mother was unable to nurse the child. The city was being shelled and there were severe food shortages. Infants were dying in droves. The family gave the baby tea for five days, but she began to fade. “The baby was dying,” Rosa Sorak said. “It was breaking our hearts.”
But on the fifth day, just before dawn, the Soraks heard someone stomping up to their front door. It was their Muslim neighbor, Fadil Fejzic, one of the few people in town who owned a cow. He was wearing black rubber boots and holding a half a liter of milk. Other families insulted Fadil and told him to let the children of their enemies die. But Fadil, the man with a cow and heavy black rubber boots, kept showing up on their porch—for 442 days in a row, until the Soraks' daughter-in-law and granddaughter left the country.
The Soraks said they could never forgive those who took Zoran from them. But they also couldn't forget the kindness of their neighbor Fadil. Drago Sorak said. “The milk he had was precious, all the more so because it was hard to keep animals. He gave us 221 liters. And every year at this time, when it is cold and dark, when we close our eyes, we can hear the boom of the heavy guns and the sound of Fadil Fejzic on the stairs.”
The journalist, Chris Hedges, wrote, "Here was the power of love. What this illiterate farmer did would color the life of another human being, who might never meet him, long after he was gone. In his act lay an ocean of hope.” (Chris Hedges, War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, Anchor, 2003, pp. 50-53; www.PreachingToday.com)
You don’t need to be wealthy or powerful to make a difference. Sometimes, all you need to do is give a cup of cold milk. If you want to create an oasis of love in a hostile world, don’t hate like Cain. Instead, love like Christ – give yourself with concrete compassion.
William Ward put it this way:
I will do more than belong – I will participate.
I will do more than care – I will help.
I will do more than believe – I will practice.
I will do more than be fair – I will be kind.
I will do more than forgive – I will forget.
I will do more than dream – I will work.
I will do more than teach – I will inspire.
I will do more than earn – I will enrich.
I will do more than give – I will serve.
I will do more than live – I will grow.
I will do more than suffer – I will triumph. (Haddon Robinson, Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, June 2003, p.12; www.PreachingToday.com)
