Lying on the Kitchen Floor

Through an unfortunate series of events, I found myself lying on my back on the kitchen floor.  I was not feeling well and I truly had no desire to move at that moment.  As could be expected, the children who were home were concerned.  Here are their following responses.

Gabe (8): "Mom.  Get off the floor.  If you don't feel well you need to be on the couch!"

Susie (7): "Mama, do you need anything?  Are you okay?  Do you want me to help you up?  I'll help you.  What do you need?"

Ben (5): "I don't like you on the floor.  Why are you on the floor?  You should get up.  Do you want me to get your cane?"

Joshua (2): Overhearing his brother, runs into the bedroom and grabs the cane.  Comes back into the kitchen and throws it at me.  Thanks, Josh.

Annie (3): Our quiet little one didn't say a word.  Instead she went and got a blanket and laid it over me.  Then she went to her bedroom, got her blanket, lay down beside me, and gave me a kiss.

All of these children love me.  They all want me well.  But they all had very different reactions.  This got me to thinking:
   

How do we show love to the lost people in this world?

Do we demand that they change their location and set foot in the church as though physically being in church will solve their problems?

Do we verbally offer help over and over again as though it is our words and good intentions that heal?

Do we throw relevant scriptures and verses their way as though randomly flung verses will save their souls?

Or do we go to the lost and love them where they are at?

Led by the Holy Spirit, I learn a lot from my children.  Not one of them wanted me to be on the kitchen floor.  And truthfully, the floor was not my ultimate goal.  But at that moment, it is where I was and I wasn't moving.  Instead of convincing or forcing me to move, Annie was the only one who showed me deep love where I was at.  I didn't stay on the floor eternally.  In an hour or so, I was up and on the couch, and after some time, I was up and walking around.

(Photo taken weeks after the incident! :)

And so it is with the lost.  No one truly desires to stay lost.  Everyone wants to be known and loved by the Creator.  But the only way to truly lead people to Christ is to show them Christ's love in a deep and personal way right where they are at.  And through love, they will find their way off the kitchen floor onto the couch, and eventually they'll be on their own two feet following Christ.

And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 5:30