Making Disciples through “One Another”
by Kelly Williams
Do you remember the line “Move that Bus” from Extreme Home Makeover? I want to share a story with you where we got to experience that very occasion.
Ken and I were living in Illinois, and a contractor contacted Ken about helping him gather the community together and help remodel a home for a couple in a small community. The wife had been in a car accident one night driving home after a double shift. She tried to crawl out of the car and in the process paralyzed herself from the waist down.
She and her husband were both working hard to make ends meet and were barely keeping their head above water. Then with her accident, she was unable to work and could not even take care of her own needs. The home they owned was certainly not conducive to a wheel chair. There was a tub, but no shower; a kitchen with waist high countertops; and stairs to get into both the front and the back door. It was very difficult for him to lift her from her chair into bed and back out the next morning. He lost his job because he had to stay and take care of her during the day. They were really in need of being served!
The contractor and Ken began to talk to the community about helping this couple. I was asked to be the interior decorator after the major items were completed. This project was completed over Memorial Day weekend from Friday morning to Monday at noon. A new roof, ramps for both doors, a shower she could roll into, and a kitchen sink she could roll under to wash dishes. Also a lift was installed that would allow her husband, Kirk, to get her into and out of the bed each day. So much was donated and so much was done to improve this home.
Furniture stores gave furniture, the community college brought students to work on the landscaping, a food company set up a food truck and fed the workers around the clock.
We got the couple a hotel room in a nearby town so they would not see what we were accomplishing until Monday. I contacted the Chicago television station about what was happening and they sent out a reporter on Monday for the big reveal. We had the school to bring out the school buses and they were blocking the couple’s line of sight to their home that Monday morning.
Ken used the police car’s microphone to speak to the big crowd that had gathered that Monday. He said something I will never forget. He told the people that we had come together as a community to bless this couple, but instead we had all been blessed beyond measure. That was so true! I felt like I had worshipped in a greater way than I ever had before when we were able to complete this project. And then we led the crowd to yell “Move that Bus!” I don’t think there were many dry eyes in that crowd when this couple saw their home had been totally transformed into a safe place for her to live.
After a tour of all the changes, the news reporter set down with the couple, along with Ken and I and the contractor, and she asked Kirk, the husband, what he thought about all of this. He said something that just about took me to my knees. He said, “I didn’t think anybody even saw us, much less would do this for us.”
Do we do that? Do we see people in need and turn the other way instead of serving them as we have been commanded to do? What a loss that is not just to the ones in need but also to us!
What a blessing it is to be able to serve one another! What could you do to serve someone in your community? Is there a family in need of help? I’m sure there are many in every neighborhood we could help if we would just see them.
Galatians 5:13-14 says, “13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty (or freedom); only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
There are 42 times in the New Testament that this phrase is used _______ one another. Below is a list of some of the “one anothers” we are encouraged to do for each other.
Love one another (John 13:34).
Serve one another (Galatians 5:13).
Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Forgive one another (Colossians 3:13).
Pray for one another (James 5:16).
Accept one another (Romans 15:7).
Teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).
Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9).
Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32).
Ladies, I encourage you to open your eyes to the needs of those around us. Let’s make a difference to one another.
Prayer: Father, help me to open my eyes and see those around me. Help me to love them, serve them, show hospitality to them and be kind and compassionate to one another. Help me to be more like Jesus in loving everyone, no matter their circumstances. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
