Every so often an exposition called "Help Expo" is held in this city. It gathers together the majority of the nonprofit service organizations, principally to invite people to volunteer with them. There are more than 600 of these nonprofit organizations listed in the directory of the Social Development Council of Nuevo León, who organizes this exposition.

Upon visiting and familiarizing myself with the booths of the participants of the "Help Expo", I noticed how the number of people who live in inhumanely needy situations seemed to increase exponentially with every aisle I walked into. Despite what the headlines of the papers say, many people in this country live in very precarious conditions. Even though many of these people are not facing an environment of extreme poverty, a large fraction of them have special and extraordinary needs.

Chatting with one of the exhibitors, I mentioned how difficult it can be to gather the funds to continue their projects. However, he corrected me, saying, "Many times for us it is easier to obtain money than to find hands willing to help."

The first time I went to the church I currently attend, the meetings were held in an old house which had been rented and renovated for that purpose. The worship services were held outside, on the house's patio. We regularly celebrated out in the open air, even though we sometimes had to use a tarp as a roof.

These days we have our own building and have turned it into a formal house of worship (with a roof). In addition, we have introduced important technological advances in order to offer a church with worship services relevant to the 21st century.

Those who have not been watching the church's process of growth and transformation from close up are surprised upon seeing all that we have done in such a short time. They regularly ask, "How is it possible that you have succeeded in building this type of church in a third world country?" And I enjoy responding with humor, "Every time we have a new project we say, 'Well, don't worry about money, because there isn't any...and so we will simply focus our attention on making thing happen.' If we had gotten stuck on the issue of money, we never would have done anything."

Many times as Christians we believe that to help our neighbor we only need to give money to some organization or to a good cause. This is truly helpful. But a much greater truth is this; even more so than the money we can give, it's important to give ourselves.

This can be a very comfortable scenario; to sit in your office or house. Then, motivated by a television marathon or an advertising campaign, you pick up the telephone. Credit card in hand, you make a magnificent and very generous donation. However, this money doesn't do any good if there are not a sufficient number of hands to carry it to its final destination.

To love our neighbors, we have to leave our comfortable surroundings, go out to meet them, and to express our support for them. To see neighbors in the images of those who walk by our side, in the faces of the unemployed, in the bruises of the mistreated, in the hunger of the poor, and in the loneliness of those who suffer from indifference and rejection.

The experience of solidarity cannot be found in a number written in a check book, but rather in the calluses on our hands from the effort expended with the goal of creating the Kingdom of God, in the here and now.

True love of our neighbors manifests itself with work, not simply with good intentions.

Scripture
Luke 10:25-37
New International Version (NIV)

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’.”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

To read more devotionals by Mr. Rubio, visit A Big Child Ministry (http://abigchild.spaces.live.com).