Authors-choice: Hope & Revival

Myra had worked for many years in a large, down- town business office. Many different things were said about Myra, but on one point all her colleagues agreed: Myra was a hateful person. No one had ever managed to get close enough to her to know her very well. She had a way of quickly turning off anyone who tried to befriend her. She was a loner, and a disagreeable one at that. Consequently whenever a new employee was hired, the warning went out, ‘Stay away from Myra’. This situation lasted for years until a new employee, whom we shall call Margaret, arrived on the scene. Disregarding all the friendly warnings, Margaret made a special effort to let Myra know that now, there was someone in that office that really cared about her. Amazingly, this initial expression of kindness eventually began to bear fruit. Myra was breaking out of her shell. She was communicating more easily. She even was developing a friendship or two. Then, early one morning, the entire office staff was shocked to learn that Margaret had died suddenly the night before. When Myra heard the news she cried and cried and said over and over again, ‘Margaret was the only Christ I ever knew, she was the only Christ I ever knew.’
It is not at all surprising to hear some one spontaneously associating an act of love and compassion such as this with Jesus and his followers. Christianity, after all, is not only a way of thinking but it is away of living.