June 11: RESCUE SQUAD STATION NUMBER 18

I will never forget Rescue Squad Station Number 18. I had an allergic reaction. My eyes reddened and became itchy. I began to have difficulty breathing. My wife began driving me to the Emergency Room. Because the situation was becoming scary, we stopped at Station 18. I knocked on the door and was met by three people, then several other people emerged.
They greeted me with this question: “How can we help you?” They didn’t ask if I was rich or poor. They didn’t ask if I was gay or straight. They didn’t ask if I was divorced or married. They didn’t ask if I was an alcoholic or a drug addict. They simply received me and began to care for me by giving me oxygen, then an injection while transporting me to the hospital. They surrounded my wife in a circle of concern. It was the best definiton of the word “church” that I had seen in a long time. I was a person in need, they offered all the help they could immediately, no strings attached.
Jesus said “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37 NIV) In Revelation 22:17 (NIV) He says “Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Today, many churches have become exclusive. If you don’t pass the requirement of race, place, face, or politics, you are not acceptable. How did the contemporary church arrive at the place of changing the inclusiveness of Jesus to the exclusiveness of men’s requirements? So many so-called “growing churches” are not offering a servant attitude to a broken people. So much brokenness in our world, demands unconditional love from the churches.
The uniqueness of the New Testament church was it’s ready ministry, in Jesus’ name, to everyone. No strings attached! Thanks, Station 18 for the lesson in what it means to be church.

“You have called us, Lord of the Church, to be sure that our organizations copy
all that you did in welcoming people to taste the love of God. Help us do it! Amen”