A "Yes" Face

 

During his days as President, Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions were traveling across the country on horseback. They came to a river which had left its banks because of a recent downpour. The swollen river had washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents. The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveler who was not part of their group to step aside and watch. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river. The president agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side. As the stranger slid off the back of the saddle onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, “Tell me, why did you select the president to ask this favor of?” The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. “All I know,” he said, “Is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No,’ and on some of them was the answer ‘yes.’ His was a ‘Yes’ face.” Bible.org/illustration; The Grace Awakening, C. Swindoll, Word, 1990, p6.

On his first night in the barracks the new recruit faced a real test. At home, he had the habit of reading the Bible and kneeling down to pray before retiring. In the barracks, he was entirely surrounded by rough fellows, many of them cursing and joking loudly. The new recruit thought it might be wise to go to bed and read the Bible where nobody would notice him. Then he thought and boldly decided, I’m a Christian! I ought to be an example for Jesus before these guys. I won’t pull down my colors. I will do here what I always did at home. So, he took out his Bible and read for a while. Then he knelt down to pray. The barracks became noticeably quiet. After a while, the talk began again, but it was more subdue. No one said anything about the young soldier’s behavior. The next night when he got out his Bible, eight other soldiers got out their Bibles. Within a month every soldier in the barracks would have fought for the lad. They came to him with their questions and their troubles. May you and I have the same level of courage before the Lord and humanity.

[Matthew 5:16] “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” Sometimes it’s good for us to walk where we’re not comfortable. Comfort is difficult to define. It is generally the feeling we have when we know the people around us, are familiar with the place we are, and know pretty much what is going to happen next. On the other hand, discomfort is that feeling when we don’t know the people, the place, or what to expect. We would rather be comfortable. As followers of Jesus, we need to walk where it isn’t so comfortable. It isn’t comfortable to stand beside someone’s hospital bed, but Jesus needs to be there. It isn’t comfortable to go to the home of someone who has recently died, but Jesus needs to be there. It isn’t comfortable to go to someone who is in distress because of a rocky marriage, a wayward child, or a moral violation, but Jesus needs to be in all these places. So, He sends us. We are the ones to go, not seeking comfort, but giving it. We are the ones to stand in the presence of difficulty so that God will be remembered there. We are the ones who are to be more concerned with the wellbeing of others than we are about our own comfort level. And, truly, this is one of the ways He leads us to a greater adventure. Because of Him we end up going places we would never have dreamed of going, doing things we would have never dreamed of doing, and changing the lives of people we would have never met. God has a way of providing what people need, and often times, they need us. A “Yes” face to offer help and comfort.