The Man Who Didn’t Stop

The first time David saw the pickup truck, he barely slowed down. It was sitting on the shoulder of Highway 31, hazard lights blinking, with an older man standing beside a flat tire. David glanced at the dashboard clock. It was 9:42, church started at ten, and he’d already promised his wife he wouldn’t be late again.

“Somebody will stop,” he told himself as he drove past.

By 9:58, David was shaking hands at the church entrance, exchanging the usual Sunday greetings. He found his seat beside his wife, opened his Bible, and settled in. Everything was going fine until the pastor began talking about the difference between believing something and actually doing something about it.

The morning’s Scripture was James 2:17. Faith without works is dead.

David shifted in his seat. Of all the messages the pastor could have preached that morning, he’d picked this one. David tried to concentrate, but his mind kept returning to that truck. He remembered the man looking up as his car approached, probably hoping he’d slow down.

After the service, David stayed to talk with a few friends. He laughed at the usual jokes and discussed the football game, but something kept bothering him. He’d spent an hour hearing about helping others while knowing he’d passed up the opportunity to do exactly that.

On the drive home, he took Highway 31 again. When he reached the spot where the truck had been sitting, the shoulder was empty. He was relieved someone had apparently helped.

A few miles farther down the road, though, he spotted an older man walking along the shoulder carrying a red gas can. David recognized him immediately and pulled over.

“Weren’t you the fellow with the flat tire this morning?” he asked.

The man nodded. “Got the spare on, but wouldn’t you know it, I ran out of gas before I made it to the station.”

David offered him a ride. They’d barely gotten moving when he decided there wasn’t much point pretending.

“I saw you this morning,” David admitted. “I was headed to church. I should’ve stopped, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

The older man looked over at him, then smiled.

“Well, you stopped this time.”

They spent the rest of the drive talking about old trucks, rising gas prices, and how much the highway had changed over the years. David bought the gas, drove him back to his truck, and made sure it started before heading home.

Nothing extraordinary happened that afternoon. But David went home thinking about how easy it had been to explain away somebody else’s need when stopping would have inconvenienced him.

He’d made it to church on time that morning. The part of the sermon he needed most was waiting for him on the road home.