Reach Out and Connect in Love

April 21, 2026

From Pastor Joseph Wamack

Many years ago during a time of war, a young fugitive, running to escape from the enemy, entered a small village and asked for sanctuary. The people were kind to him and offered a place to hide. But when the enemy soldiers who were after him came and asked where he was hiding, everyone became afraid. The soldiers threatened to burn the village and kill every man in it unless the fugitive was handed over to them before dawn of the next day.

The town folk went to the minister and asked him what to do. The minister, torn between handing the young man over to the enemy or having the people killed, withdrew to his room and opened his Bible, hoping to find direction before the dawn deadline. After searching the Scriptures and praying into the wee morning, his eyes fell on these words from John 11:50-“‘It is better that one man dies than the whole people be lost.”

The minister shut the Bible. He had made his decision. He called the soldiers and told them where the young fugitive was hidden. After the soldiers led the prisoner away to be killed, there was a great feast in the village because the minister had saved the lives of the people. But the minister could not celebrate. Overcome with a deep sadness, he remained in his room.

That night an angel came to him and asked, ‘What have you done?’

The minister said, ‘I handed over the fugitive to the enemy.’

Then the angel said, ‘But don’t you know that you have handed over the Messiah?’

‘How could I know?’ the minister replied anxiously.

Then the angel said, ‘If instead of reading your Bible, you had visited this young man just once and looked into his eyes, you would have known.’”

This profound short story reminds me there is a need of coming close to people, looking into their eyes, listening for the emotion in their voice, searching for the good in their hearts and doing the right thing because it is the right thing. We can learn from books. We can study and practice in labs. We can write papers and gather statistics and present them in wonderful Excel spreadsheets. But sooner or later, someone has got to serve somebody!

The Men's Ministry at MAC has started two men’s Bible study fellowship groups. It is a good start for our men and reminds me, we need to feel and find fellowship within the church. The world can get lonely. The Bible says, “Woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecc.4:10).

The good news of the Gospel is that it is a story of God reaching out for us-searching us out-looking into our eyes and seeing something, someone of intrinsic value. We must move. We must serve. We have no time to wait.

Love demands action-action demands love. Reach out and connect in love.