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July 25

You don’t have to be like me!

I returned recently from a trip to Uganda and from being
with a team in Capetown, South Africa. The time in Uganda was special because I
was able to spend some significant time with our children there in Fort Portal
and Jinga.

The team in Capetown was wonderful for many reasons; a
couple of which were family members. Sandy, her sister Beverly and our sister
in law Dawn and her daughter Erika and another niece, Angela were all a part of
this team. They were all profoundly affected by the children and ministry that
took place in Langa. Langa is one of the oldest townships in the Capetown area.
We have about 80 children sponsored in our program there with many more
attending and waiting for sponsors.

Actually I led team to Nicaragua for Nicaragua Resource Network
before going to Africa so it was a busy June for me. I am glad to be home for a
few weeks. I leave again soon to lead a team back to the cities of Fort Portal
and Jinga in Uganda.

Soon after I returned from Africa I was invited to attend
the commissioning/prayer ceremony for some friends who have been deployed to Thailand where they will focus on
offering counseling services to fellow global servants in that country. When
the meeting ended I was standing around and reconnecting with a number of
people I haven’t seen for awhile. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a good friend
walked up and exclaimed loudly enough to be heard by others, “I wish I was more like you!”

He took me by surprise at first and I looked around to see who he
was talking too because honestly, I didn’t think it was me. There are a lot of
people that people would want to be like but I don’t have myself on that list.
When I recovered a few seconds later, I responded by asking, “Why would you say
something like that?” I meant it! I firmly believe the best people we can be is
not necessarily like someone else but just the person God fully intended us to
be. We should all want to be like the person God intended us to be as we grow
in his likeness. But he insisted and so I asked him to explain why he felt the
way he did. He told me that just a few days before that encounter with me, he
and his wife were in Chicago for some R&R. Not to be confused with R&B.
I heartily approve of both by the way.

Anyway, he continued with the story and explained that he
and his wife had encountered a homeless person on the street and he wasn’t sure
what to do. He said that at that moment “he wished he was more
like…well…me…Doug Ehrgott. He said that I would have known what to do. He said I always seem to be able to take a situation like that and turn it into a
divine or redemptive moment. So, I probed further and asked him what he did do.
He said he ended up giving the man some money but he felt like he had missed an
opportunity to do something more.

As an aside, there is a lot of frenzy and fad about doing
things for the suffering and hurting and homeless and forgotten. For most of
this energy and altruism I am grateful but one very important element of this idea has sadly been lost. You see many people like my friend think maybe they have to possess some special gift or know some technique or style for seeing and seizing these moments that God provides for us.

Nothing could be further from reality.

I want to let you know my secret…just in case there might be
others of you out there who might want to be like me.

I revealed my secret by asking my friend one question.

I asked “What would you have done if that person had been your son?

His eyes watered and he exclaimed again, “Oh, I would have done everything so much differently!”

And then he excitedly talked about all he would have done for his son.

The next, natural question that doesn’t need to be asked or answered because it is understood is, “Why?”

Why would he have done things differently if that person had been his son?

Does that question have to be anwered here?

You see there is no secret method or technique or style or trick to loving people. You just have to see people for who they are…they are your
brothers and sisters and sons and daughters and moms and dads and loved ones
and…maybe as Jesus.

Mother Theresa always claimed to see Jesus in the faceof the poor.

That changes everything.

And then there is the Golden Rule. You know…”do for others what you would want them to do for you…or your son.”

That man was somebody’s son. What would you want someone to do for your son in the same situation.

That then, is what you should do for him.

You see it is not that complex; it doesn’t require special progamming or organization. We don’t have to make a big deal out of it and call all kinds of attention to it.  Just love people! No strings attached! Daily as God provides the opportunities. One person at a time.

Over the next couple of weeks I want to write some stories
about the people God let me love like (as if they are) Jesus while I was in Africa.

Stay well and

Dance with God

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