Servitude

Today’s Thought Servitude G. Ward  “But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10:29-37 Florence Nightingale was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night. Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment, in 1860, of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first secular nursing school in the world, now part of King's College London. The Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses was named in her honor, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday. The name (Florence Nightingale) has become synonymous with servitude. While many seek fortune and fame, there are some who find a need and determine that their helping is necessary. I believe that rendering any level of help must begin with a need vs. individualized promptings. Sure, the convalescent center’s inhabitants need an encouraging word and homeless shelters need your goods, but let’s not forget the words that Jesus our Lord spoke; “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me” (Mk.14:7). By the Spirit, needs are forever presented; more imperative then to adopt is spiritual vision (i.e. an ability to see beyond what appears as actual).When we search for varied benevolent opportunities, I believe our natural inclination is to purse those economically depressed ones (cf. Mt.6:21), forgetting that the rich need Jesus also (cf. Jas.2:1-9). Now don’t you go thinking your name will remain in infamy because of great surrender as Florence Nightingale exemplified, but more importantly, make yourself available to the need because the Savior recognized ours. Happy Wednesday!