For Solomon

My head was shaved today. It looks funny. It feels funny. I will get teased about my bald head for a while and that too will be funny to some. The humor ends there though. I did not allow my hair to be clipped to the scalp on a whim. It was no stunt or attempt to get attention. A Christian brother who is a member of my church and attends my Sunday School class has cancer and, medically speaking, his prospects are bad. He is 40 years old and has a wife and three kids. Today, folks from our church assisted in a benefit to raise money to help the family. As a part of the benefit, I and two other guys (the brother's boss and his boss' boss) let a barber take his electric clippers to our heads when a certain amount of money was raised for each one.

To us it was simply hair and some good-humored teasing. To his family the money donated will mean so much more. We made a choice that was not afforded to him. Chemo therapy has taken his hair. Our choice was based on our love for him and his family. We can not take the cancer from his body but we can stand beside him and demonstrate our love.

His circumstance is not unique. Many people fight cancer every day. His is not the most tragic story one might hear, though it is heart rending. He has hope that so many do not have. He has One who sticks closer than a brother. He told me a while back that two years ago he would not have been able to handle what he is facing. He now can because within those past two years he came to faith in Jesus as his Savior. He still has cancer, but he is not alone. He would much rather be healthy but he understands that God has a plan and is in control. I believe that God can use a testimony like that to reach the hearts of others.

While I can not make a difference for the masses, I can do something for those near me. Literally hundreds of people demonstrated their love today in a very tangible way. They gave of their time, efforts, and money, but mostly they gave of their hearts. They allowed themselves to be a blessing right where they live. I so strongly believe that God places us where He desires to use us. The choice falls back to us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's call and then to be obedient.

My friend's name is Solomon. I let my hair be cut today because I love Solomon and it was what I could do here and now. I love him because we have the same Father, our Heavenly Father. I love the Father because He first loved me. Jesus hung on a cross and loved me right where He was. Will you love right where you are?

Because He lives,

Robby