Are we saviours for our entourage ?
Are we fully aware about the responsibility we have in our hands as believers?
Yeshuah-Christ knew it and was always a SAVIOUR for those approaching him in need. If we want to follow His example, we must also be ready to save those who, in our entourage, are in need for help.
To save.
The first meaning of "To save" is the get people out of a peril or a dangerous situation. Saving people can be spectacular:
· Remember for instance Noah who, while obeying Yehoah, saved not only the human race but also preserved all the species of nonwatery animals.
· Abraham saved Lot twice: first when he was kidnapped by the allies of king Chedorlaomer and secondly thanks to Abraham's when asking Yehoah to save him before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
· Joseph became the Saviour of Egypt and Israel at the time the seven years of starving.
We can see here that testimonies from the Scriptures about some of the people chosen by our Creator show that many of them, as followers of their Lord Yeshuah-Christ, were SAVIOURS and their actions were SPECTACULAR.
King David, a discrete saviour.
But there are more discrete saving actions. Let us take examples from David's life.
Starting in the first book of Samuel, chapter 16, verses 14 to 17 and 21 to 23 :
" 14 But the Spirit of Yehoah departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from Yehoah troubled him. 15And Saul's servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from Elohim is troubling you. 16Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from Elohim is upon you, and you shall be well."
17So Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me."…
21So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight." 23And so it was, whenever the spirit from Elohim was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him."
David, still very young, relieves Saul from the bad spirit that regularly hit him : he was a saviour for Saul in the sense that he was able to release him.
Now let us continue by reading I Samuel, chapter 17, verses 17 to 20 :
" 17Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them." 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle."
Here another aspect of David's behaviour as a discrete saviour : he saves the flock of his father in the sense that he entrusted it to another shepherd while fulfilling his mission, instead of leaving it without any custody.
But later King David could also be a magnificent saviour.
David having learned how to be saviour in the small and discrete things of the daily life will become in the same day, by the power of Yehoah, the great saviour of all his people of Israel by killing Goliath:
" 34But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living Elohim." (I Samuel 17 : 34-36)
All these examples show the multiple facets of the Saviour :
· save somebody from the danger
· relieve a patient who is suffering
· be sometimes a liberator
· take care of people or goods.
Here are now various ways we must take to become saviours for our entourage.
How to act to become a saviour ?
To save means to know, to love and to be carefull
If we wish to act as a saviour, first of all we must know and understand the real needs of our next. It is useful to know that in the Bible, the words to know and to love are tightly linked together when we speak about the sexual relationship between a man and his wife. It means that to know well, it is also necessary to love. To know means also to listen, to be carefull and not to be selfish.
Please read in Luke, chapter 8, verses 41-56 how Yeshuah-Christ for instance is showing His constant care as a saviour:
" 41And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Yeshuah's feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45And Yeshuah said, "Who touched Me?"
When all denied it, Peter and those with himsaid, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, "Who touched Me?"'
46But Yeshuah said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." 47Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
49While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher."
50But when Yeshuah heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." 51When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." 53And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
54But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." 55Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened."
To save means also to give.
If we want to become a saviour, we must learn how to give. To save means also to understand that we are on earth to give, at least if we want to be righteous. Read how Yeshuah-Christ will address himself to the righteous in Matthew 25 : 31-40 :
" 31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."
We have in ourselves the powerful potential to give our next all what he needs really if we have faith. But you must always keep in mind in this affair, that we are simply a liaison officer. Indeed what we achieve while saving somebody is not our work only but is mainly coming from our Father through us. It means that the world around us see that something extraordinary is going on but we should not be astonished about it, as we have the Holy Spriti of the Father in us!
Nothing changed since King David, when he relieved Saul of his bad spirit. The key of this event is given in I Samuel 16:18:
"18Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and
Yehoah is with him."
Let us address real needs of people!
Don't believe that to save is synonymous of to give money. We wrote earlier that we must observe carefully to meet the real needs of our next. Peter and John were giving a very nice example about this in Acts 3: 1-7:
"1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Yeshuah Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength."
Here, alms was not the real need but curing was the one!
Let us continue to read verses 12 to 16:
"12So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Yeshuah, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."
Sisters, brethren and friends, do not be shy but have the faith to become saviours and after each act of rescue, recognize the power of your Father who is living and acting in your body. So-doing will give a source of joy and perseverance while walking in the narrow path which will bring you in the Kingdom of our Creator!