The Kingdom-Driven Family

Jesus commanded us to let our light shine before men so that they would see our good works and glorify His and our Father in heaven. There are many ways to do this, but today I had an unexpected opportunity to obey this command. The Lord’s orchestration of events was unquestionably evident.

I did not follow my usual activities for a Tuesday. I have the chance to meet with a dear friend tomorrow who is visiting from out of town, so I switched my personal training session from Wednesday to Tuesday to stay faithful to my commitment to exercise five days per week. On my way home, I debated whether or not to get gas. I was having one of those ambivalent moments: should I or shouldn’t I do this task now, and concluded that it really didn’t matter. I finally determined to wait, but the next thing I knew, I was changing lanes and entering the gas station. My told myself, “I guess I’m getting gas!”

As I was filling my tank, I overheard one very stressed man talking on his phone. His agitation was obvious from the tone of his voice and his body language. I soon understood that he had come to the gas station with an almost empty tank, only to discover that he didn’t have his wallet with him. The person he was talking to was not in a position to help him. He kept repeating, “I know… I know… It’s not your fault. But I’m late for work and I don’t have my wallet.”

At that point, I received what I identified as a heaven-sent message. I knew what I was supposed to do. I reached into the car, removed a $20 bill from my wallet and called out to him, “Excuse me,” as I held up the twenty. At that point, a combined look of disbelief and relief overtook his face and he said to the person on the phone, “Uh…uh…you won’t…..forget it,” and hung up.

He walked over to my car thanking me profusely. He said, “You have no idea of the day I’ve had. It’s been one of those frustrating days. I don’t know how to thank you enough.” I replied, “You need to thank the Lord Jesus Christ.” He said, “Thank God! There are so many good people around; I just can’t believe it.” As I finished my pumping and got back into my car, he yelled across the gas station, “Hey, lady, thanks again,” to which I replied, “God bless you. I hope your day gets better.”

I left the gas station with a smile from ear to ear, knowing that I had shared God’s money with him rather than mine, since all that I have comes from the hand of God. Answer # 7 from the Westminster Shorter Catechism came to mind: The decrees of God are His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby, for His own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. What a blessing to know that even in the seemingly unimportant task of filling my gas tank, the Kingdom of God was served.