Roadside Assistance

L

ast Friday, I got up as usual, made breakfast, made sure Trixie, my cat, had all she needed, made the bed, and got ready for work.  I was ahead of schedule and would arrive at the office with a few extra minutes to enjoy some conversation over a steaming cup of coffee.  Yes, all was going well until I pulled my car out of the garage.  The car’s steering just didn’t feel right and there was a thumping sound as I rolled down the driveway. 

I stopped the car, turned off the radio, put the car back in gear, and gingerly eased it forward.  Yep, there was the thumping sound again and the same resistance in the steering wheel I had felt just a few moments before.  I pulled the car back into the garage, hopped out, and inspected the front passenger side which seemed to be the origin of the noise.  Sure enough, the front right tire was flat; I mean it was on the rim.

Well now, what was I going to do at 6:30 in the morning?  I couldn’t wake my neighbors, I couldn’t call a friend to help change a flat that early in the morning, and changing it myself would have been quite a comedy routine.  Fortunately for me, my car offers a feature which I took full advantage of Friday morning.  A series of three buttons, one for information, one for emergencies, and one for roadside assistance, are located just above my head in the center console.  I pressed the roadside assistance switch and in fewer than thirty-minutes, a technician arrived at my home, changed the tire, and sent me on my merry way!

That got me to thinking about the number of times people call roadside assistance on a daily basis.  So many times, I pass people along the highway who are just waiting for that magic truck to appear and help them out of their predicaments.  Sometimes, I see good Samaritans who will pull off to the roadside just to help someone in need.

Would it surprise you to learn that the idea of roadside assistance dates all the way back to the New Testament?  Don’t believe me?  The let’s spend a few moments together in Acts 8 as we see Phillip, one of the 12 disciples, rendering roadside assistance to the Treasurer of Ethiopia.

As our story opens, the Treasurer of Ethiopia is reading a passage from Isaiah. Phillip asks if he understands what he is reading to which the man categorically states his frustration in understanding because he has no one to explain the passage to him, “The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.” (Acts 8:31)

Do you see this man’s call for roadside assistance?  Can you hear the desperation in his voice as he pleads with Phillip for help? And that is exactly what Phillip did. He climbed up in the man’s carriage and gave expert service so this man would no longer be in need, “So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.”

The road of life is strewn with people who have been stranded by the difficulties and challenges they face.  They don’t know what to do. They don’t know whom to call. They don’t understand why no one will take the time to come alongside and help them.  As Christians, we have been given the solemn order to preach the gospel at all times and to help those who are in need.  Take a good look around you today and you will see so many who are experiencing difficulties.  Won’t you, like Phillip, offer them roadside assistance today?