The Naming

Thanks to my wonderful wife, I am reading through a book series while at work called Pellinor, by Alison Croggon, who has been influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien enough to name one of the bards in her series Tulkan. So far the first book, The Naming, has quite nicely kept at bay the hours of boredom that naturally come with working a job that, for the most part, calls on you to wait for something to go wrong. By God's grace, this does not happen very often. About halfway through The Naming, a situation comes about in which one of the main characters has to make a choice. He has the power to heal a child who is about to die, but he knows that if he does it will likely bring attention to the group, who is trying to go unnoticed, and endanger if not bring to ruin the group and their mission. Without hesitation, he heals the child. At first even the parents are suspicious of his powers and rather ungrateful. One of his companions later asks, "Was that wise? If we are trying to hide... Mr. Dringold obviously suspects us." He responds, "If that is all that matters: no, it was not wise. However, what is wisdom, if it means allowing that little boy to die?" In the same way, I think we as Christians are called to do good, even if it may cost us. The Scriptures recount Jesus doing this often. He healed people, even when it seemed to bring Him unwanted attention from the religious leaders who meant to do Him harm, and He is to be our example. Make sure to take the time to notice the good you can bring to someone and do so, even if it costs you. Think on that.