About 2,000 years ago, God gave His all. He lowered Himself to come into this sinful world in the form of His Son. He fed thousands, healed multitudes, and showed us The Way. What did we do in return? Jesus was betrayed, beaten, and nailed to a tree until He died. This was accomplished by the religious leaders of the time. Now, wouldn't God have been justified if He had washed His hands of us? But that is not what He did. Three days after His death, Jesus was resurrected to life. He came back to His followers (all of whom had deserted Him and some of whom had denied Him and still doubted Him) to help them. Now that is forgiveness. Having been killed by those He came to help, Jesus returned again to offer salvation to anyone who would believe and obey.

This is a very good lesson for us. The next time we face someone in need, we should be like Jesus and help them. They, like us, are surely worth the effort. And if we are let down as a result of helping, then we should stop to think about what God did for us. After all, if anyone had an excuse not to help someone, it is surely God! He showed no anger, regret, or hatred . . . just forgiveness. God considered us to be worth the effort.