Help!

Lunchtime was typical for twelve-year-old Amelia Loverme until she saw her twin brother.

Charlie, who also attended Leicester Middle School, choked on mozzarella cheese. Later, Charlie admitted he thought he was going to die.

But he didn’t. Without formal training, Amelia started the Heimlich maneuver. She dislodged the cheese quickly, and Charlie breathed again.

Their father felt both relief and pride. He said of his daughter, “Just because you don’t have formal training should not stop you from helping someone. If you can help somebody, react whether or not you’re nervous, you should.”

If you can, help.

Jesus met many people choking on sin and pain. Some helped, like the men who let the paralytic through the roof. Others, as in the Good Samaritan story, “passed by.”

If you see someone dying, would you not save them if you could? If you knew someone dying spiritually, why is that urgency not as keen?

Even if you know little, do something to keep someone from dying. If you can help, help. Life is too precious not to.