I came across a fascinating bit of history recently about the Berlin Airlift. I know about the airlift, I won a speech award in NCO Leadership School for a speech on it. But this short article put a human face on what was for me a political event. Here’s an excerpt that get’s to the point:

In July 1948, 27-year-old Air Force lieutenant Gail Halvorsen was flying food and supplies into West Berlin, which was blockaded by the Soviet Union. One night he encountered a group of hungry children who had gathered near the runway to watch the planes land…Over the next three days he dropped candy to growing crowds of West German children…

In 1998, when Halvorsen returned to Berlin, a “dignified, well-dressed man of 60 years” approached him. He said, “Fifty years ago I was a boy of 10 on my way to school…The chocolate was wonderful but it wasn’t the chocolate that was most important. What it meant was that someone in America knew I was here, in trouble and needed help. Someone in America cared. That parachute was something more important than candy. It represented hope. Hope that some day we would be free.”

This is significant. Helping someone can do more than relieve material needs, it can instill hope. Jesus said, “Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Matt. 10:42). He wasn’t advocating the “social gospel” where it is only physical relief nor was he using water as a metaphor for preaching the gospel. It was both. The water is offered in his name but it is water that is offered. To provide for people is an important place to start, it shows that you care, that someone cares. There is still something to be said for Christian food pantries and soup kitchens.