Results

We are such a results oriented society.

What's the bottom line?
What kind of return are we getting on our investment?
I don't know what the child learned, just show me the test scores.
Is our church attendance up? What about our giving?

Here's my problem with that. When it comes to serving as Jesus served, we don't always get to see the results. What happened to the woman caught in adultery that Jesus forgave? What about the woman at the well or the sick that He healed?

A Christian businessman sat down on a plane recently next to an obviously distraught young man. The businessman asked what was wrong and the young man explained that he was on his way to his mothers funeral. She had died very suddenly and he had spent his last penny to buy a ticket home. When the plane landed, the businessman handed the young man $50 and told him to buy some flowers for his mothers funeral. The two men parted and will more than likely never see each other again.

Was that a waste of money? How do you measure the results of that kind act? Should the businessman have invited the young man to church or spoken to him about baptism?

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

The results will take care of themselves.