Undaunted by the rain and wind, a bunch of us worked at Walmart today from 10 AM to 4 PM wrapping gifts for patrons for free.

Due to the inclement weather we got stuck under an overhang away from the main traffic going into the store.

So for a good bit of the afternoon I stood outside the main entrance announcing our effort and location. That helped things pick up significantly. We got to wrap a lot of presents, give out several tracts, and succeed in one more effort to build bridges into our community for the gospel.

I greeted a ton of people today outside that store. All kinds of reactions came back to me in return. Some seemed quite distressed. The absence of joy in some spirits was palpable. My heart went out to them.

As I reflected later this evening on the effort, I thought of this passage in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 9:

[35] And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The word for helpless in the ESV comes from a word that means to throw something down with a forceful motion. The NASB translates it dispirited. That’s what I saw in far too many faces. Sheep without a shepherd can get struck down and dispirited and left looking like this:

Jesus answer? Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

We need more laborers and we need to get out into the harvest more often.

OGC, let’s keep pushing the edge of the outreach envelope. We’ve got lots of sheep on their backs that need the Good Shepherd.