Josh had always been a faithful follower of Christ, and it was little surprise in his mid-twenties he had been selected to be a Deacon in the local church. Josh went above and beyond the call, not only did he serve on his committees but he was involved in short-term missions, headed the ushers, and did a million and a half other thankless jobs that needed to be completed.
One evening, Josh was on his way back from work when his cell phone rang. He picked it up to hear the lovely voice of his wife asking him to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home. Josh went into the local 7-11 store, picked up a gallon of milk, and began to walk off. In the back of his mind though was an unmistakable twinge, he turned and looked saying to himself, "better pick-up two."
Without much of a thought Josh placed the two gallon jugs in the back seat and began to drive off. As he pulled up to the stop sign, his turn signal already flashing right, he felt that twinge again and he stared for a moment down the dirty little street to his left. He knew the way home was to the right, but something was definitely making him feel as though he should turn left. With a flick of his wrist the blinker began to flash in the opposite direction.
At then end of the road was a house with what must have once been a white picket fence, now it was more a dilapidated row of sticks. Josh climbed out of the car, again feeling a tug on his heart. The faint sound of a baby crying came wafting through the dusk and suddenly it struck Josh why he had been led to the this home. He pulled the pen out of his pocket and found last week's church bulletin sitting on the dash. "God loves you" is all he scribbled at the top of the bulletin, then he slid the paper into the handle of the milk jug, placed it on the front porch, knocked and drove off.
Josh felt good about himself, he felt thankful to have been chosen to complete the task, and he felt tired. He was ready to get home! He had completed God's little errand and now it was time to settle in for the evening. As he again pointed his car toward the outskirts of town, that feeling again caught his attention. He slowed, looked down the grungy city street to his right, and sighed as he pressed the accelerator and turned the wheel.
This was not the place you wanted a car to break down, this wasn't even the place you wanted to see a stop sign, but that was exactly what was in front of him. The glow of the tail lights lit up the now darkened corner and before Josh could press the pedal there was a knock on his driver side glass. "Speed away," his brain screamed. "Stay" came a quiet voice from inside his heart.
Josh couldn't believe that he was rolling down the window. "You looking for a good time?" came the voice across the glass. "I'd like to talk with you, " was his hushed response.
"We can talk honey, but talking isn't as much fun and it costs the same amount." Josh pulled his wallet out and handed the lady a wad of small bills, "I just want to talk." She shrugged her shoulders and walked around the car. Josh's head hung low as he unlocked the door. "God, what do you want me to do?"
"The well are in no need of a physician," came the reply from within. Josh began to drive and after several awkward minutes of trying not to look at or say anything to the woman in the passenger seat he asked her if she knew Jesus. He didn't know what to expect, would she laugh would she mock him, but no instead she sat quietly and answered back, "I use to."
Josh smiled as a surge of energy filled his body. Verses he had read years ago seemed to come to him as did all the right words while he spoke with the woman about her life and how God still loved her. He prayed with the woman and told her that she was not too far gone, that God still could use her, that he still wanted her. When he was done he pulled over to the side of the road and wrote down an address and telephone number. "This is my church, I wish you'd visit." he said.
The lady got out and with he own look of shame stretched her arm out to hand him his money back. "No, you keep it he said." With what Josh thought was tears beginning to flow down her cheeks, she closed the door and he drove off.
Josh arrived home quite late. He burst through the doors filled with joy and excitement, grabbing his wife in a warm embrace and erupting into his fantastic story. Gabrielle listened and at times looked more than a bit concerned, but once his tale was over she shared in his happiness and basked in the awe of the moment. Together that night they prayed for the unknown family and the lost woman.
The next day there was a call on Josh's cell phone. All they had said was there was a situation at the church and he needed to come by after work. As he pulled into the church parking lot he was surprised by the number of cars parked out front. As it turned out every Deacon was in attendance. Josh stepped into their meeting room and almost immediately knew something was wrong when everyone stood as he entered.
The next few hours were intense. Someone had seen him pick-up a prostitute last night and the rumor had spread. The church listened as he told his story, but the looks all said "yeah right, likely story." He was stripped of his title as a Deacon, after all the church couldn't have a person who would sink to such lows acting as a leader. Josh was humiliated. He tried to attend church as normal, but as you can imagine the looks and whispers made communing with God an impossibility. The next week he and his wife went across town to begin the search for a new church home.
The funny thing is that the week Josh left, church attendance went up by three. A small family who lived just in town remarked about how a kind person had committed selfless act in a time when it was greatly needed. A young lady, who looked strangely familiar to some, told of how she had been down on her luck and utterly lost until a man reminded her that there were those who cared about her just around the corner. She remarked that she was disappointed not to see him that morning. She didn't know his name but wanted to say thank you.
Not the ending you expected? This parable is three fold. For those who received help it teaches that God is there in your darkest hour. For those willing to hear God's Call, he is ready to use you. For those who see themselves lofty and worthy of judging their brother or giving into idle gossip, let this parable serve as a warning. While you may think you have all the facts, the only one qualified to judge us says, "judge not lest you be judged."
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