Lord, Can I Help You?

Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking pass the hospital’s swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there… Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.


When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered Edna to be mentally stable.


When she went to tell Edna the news, she said,
“Edna, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is you're being discharged; since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and save the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act displayed sound mindedness… and the bad news is … Jim hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry… he’s dead.”


Edna replied,
“He didn't hang himself; I put him there to dry....”
“Can I go home now…?'

This is not a real story; but a secular joke circulating through e mail. Well… have you heard of this joke before? If you had, never mind, my focus is not on the joke but on your reaction after you have heard of it.

Man… I laughed, I had a good laugh... I even shared with my friends and we laughed together… but the Lord intervened by putting a thought in my mind in the midst of our laughter, i.e.…

“The accuser of the Brethren” has his influence over legalistic and religious teaching. As such, a legalistic and religious mind is as good as a mind that is “mentally challenged”. Under that sort of legalistic and religious influence, we ourselves tend to put people to dry without the understanding of the knowledge of God and still we thought we are helping God... and Lord, can I help You, is always our cry...!

It is sad to see that there are many Christians today still labouring to please God through their effort. These are sincere people but they just trying to reach God through their own approach… earning their righteousness through their good deeds and law keeping… without the knowledge of God.

And our Father God by His grace and mercy does not look at us the same way we looked at Edna. Despite of our “insanity”, He is still faithful and patient to show us His love, guides us and leads us out of our" insanity". I think this is grace…the unearned, undeserved and unmerited favor from God.

I was a victim like Jim in this story, but I was “put to dry” by legalism and religion. I was put to dried out completely… Praise God for His dew of grace that moisturized me and His dew refreshed me... and I see His Grace!