A British Mountain Climber David Sharp perhaps ill equipped, and certainly climbing alone - had run out of Oxygen, and lay helpless and dying on a freezing night on the North east route of Mount Everest
What exactly happened that day is controversial but it is probable that many other climbers passed the dying man as they went up and came down Everest that day
It appears no one stopped and helped David - They were all too busy pursuing their own ambition trying to achieve their own goal
They would not surrender their dream to help a human being in need
They left David to die a cold and lonely Death on the mountain
In Advent we begin to turn our thoughts towards Christmas and the great message of Christmas is that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us In the person of Jesus Immortal God became a vulnerable baby .
I am so pleased that Jesus didn’t pass by on the other side he didn’t ignore us in our trouble and in our pain but he came down and as the Bible puts it he humbled himself and became obedient to death –even death on a cross!
Jesus didn’t wash his hands of humanity he got his hands dirty helping us
He call us to love people too He calls us to get involved
On Tuesday night I was at a great evening held at a local church building hearing about all the churches in Shrewsbury are doing to help our community
It was inspirational to see so many churches living out the call of Jesus to love our neighbour as we love ourselves
There are churches in Shrewsbury, and indeed all over Shropshire, doing amazing things such as running debt advice centres ,food banks ,teaching NVQ skills ,helping the homeless ,the lonely ,the bereaved and the disturbed ,caring for their fellow human beings- getting involved
But of course it is not just Christians doing that thousands and thousands of others are as well
This is something we can all do -we can all get involve-d We can all engage with our fellow human beings
It really is all about relationships!
You may simply come across somebody as you walk or shop or go cycling today - They may need your help
Giving that help might be costly or time consuming ,its conceivable it could take all day
You could walk by on the other side as the people did in the parable Jesus once told or like the good Samaritan you could stop and get involved
But even if you don’t come across someone by chance there are still people out there who need your help why not volunteer to help in a local hospice ,or charity shop with meals on wheels or collecting for cancer research
Its not just mountaineers who can be too focused on achieving their own goals and ambitions we all can
But if we help those in need then not only will we bless them and build community we may also prove
that Jesus words are really true -It is more blessed to give than to receive!
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