by Carl, the Coconut Custodian

 

Hi, I’m Carl. Perhaps some of you don’t know me yet. I’ve been attending CABC since June of 2019. For those of you who don’t know my story, allow me to share it briefly.

 

I was going down the road one day when I fell into a ditch and found myself hurt, unable to move, and desperate for help. Day after day people passed by on the road, but none stopped to help. Finally, one day, a teenager saw me, stopped and picked me up, and brought me into CABC. He cleaned me up and gave me a smile (not to mention helped get me a job and Facebook followers too!).

 

Now, I don’t mean to sound harsh, for I know perhaps I was just honestly unseen by many who passed me by (after all it is hard to spot a coconut in a ditch while driving even at the posted speed limit), but I still cannot help but think of the parable of the Good Samaritan even as I write this. At the end of the parable, Jesus asks a question.

 

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to this parable in one of his last speeches and said, “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

 

Compassion. We are all called and commanded by Christ to go, love our neighbors, and have mercy on others. I am grateful for the teen who had compassion on a random coconut lying in a ditch and gave me a new meaning and purpose in life. I have seen countless members of this church have compassion on the various ministries and personal needs that are put forth on any given Sunday morning. Even the children in this congregation show compassion by bringing in their own allowance money to give as offering to benefit other children around the world. I applaud the work of this church to live out this command from Christ. And I encourage you all to continue to not only live out that compassion, but to seek out opportunities to show it. There just may be another “coconut” waiting to be found, cleaned up, and made new.