在布赫納牧師（Frederick Buechner）所寫的歷史小說（Brendan）接近結尾時，有一個感人至深的場景。故事中的人物吉爾達站了起來，露出膝蓋以下只剩一條腿。當他伸手去拿手杖時，突然失去平衡，布倫丹立刻飛撲過去扶住他。

吉爾達說﹕「我像這黑暗的世界一樣殘缺。」布倫丹回答說﹕「若真是這樣，我們當中有誰不是如此呢？當我們跌倒時，能互相扶持，也許這才是最終唯一重要的事。」

撒母耳記下第9章記載，大衛王渴望關懷掃羅家中依然在世的人（1節）。其中一位就是米非波設，他是「約拿單的一個兒子，是瘸腿的」（3節）。後來，米非波設被帶到大衛王面前，王對他說：「[我]將你祖父掃羅的一切田地都歸還你；你也可以常與我同席吃飯」（7節）。此後，米非波設常與大衛王一同用餐。

聖經記載大衛許多耀眼的成就，例如打敗巨人、擁有萬千軍隊、擊退敵國君王。諸如此類的重大事件有如電影情節一般。但聖經也記載大衛一個感人至深的善行，即他向有需要的人伸出援手。

在那些轟轟烈烈的大事落幕之後，或許大衛向米非波設展現的善意，才是最終且最重要的事。向有需要的人伸出援手，也是你我每一天都可以做的事。

There’s a poignant scene near the end of Frederick Buechner’s historical novel Brendan. The character Gildas stands up to reveal one of his legs missing from the knee down. As he reaches for his walking stick, he loses his balance. Brendan leaps up and catches him.

“I’m as crippled as the dark world,” Gildas says. “If it comes to that, which one of us isn’t?” Brendan replies. “To lend each other a hand when we’re falling. Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”

In 2 Samuel 9, we find King David desiring to show kindness to anyone still living from the house of Saul (v. 1). There is one, Mephibosheth, “a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet” (v. 3). Mephibosheth is ushered into the king’s presence, where he hears these words: “I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table” (v. 7). And he always did.

Scripture is full of unforgettable stories of David and giants and armies and kings and kingdoms—the stuff of movies. But the Bible also remembers this poignant kindness shown toward a person in need—the story of someone lending a hand to another.

After all the big, flashy scenes fade, it’s possible that kindness such as David extended to Mephibosheth is the work that matters most in the end. Lending a hand is the kind of work you and I can be about each and every day.