Around A.D. 312, there was a 20-year-old Egyptian man named Pachomius. He was minding his own business when he got drafted into the Roman army by a command from the Emperor Constantine. The emperor’s soldiers gathered up the conscripts and sailed them down the Nile River to the city of Thebes where they were tossed into a prison so they could be on hand when wanted. Imagine the despair of this youngster suddenly taken from all he knew, forced into the army, and imprisoned.

That evening some strangers brought the young men food and drink. Pachomius asked, “Why are these people so good to us when they do not know us?” He was answered, “They are Christians, and they treat us with love for the sake of the God of heaven.” Pachomius became a Christian.

Pachomius became a monk and organized several monasteries which had a profound effect on the development of Christianity. However, it’s not Pachomius I want to dwell on, but the anonymous Christians who cared for the strangers in prison. What an act of kindness! Had they not done this, Pachmonius might never have become a Christian and whole pattern of Christianity might have been different. It’s one of my recurrent themes: ordinary people doing ordinary things have a profound result.

People are sometimes overwhelmed by the scale of problems the world faces–like the consequences of Hurricane Ian. We Christians can’t fix everything, but we can make a difference. We must do what we can even though we’re just ordinary people doing ordinary things. Never underestimate what God can do through you.

Read Matthew 10:42 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne