Josh McDowell's Youth DevotionsSample

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. A show on The Learning Channel told the true story of a truck driver, traveling alone on the interstate highway one night, listening to his citizen's band (CB) radio. Suddenly a call came over the radio that sent a chill through the truck driver. "Help me," the caller said. "I'm on Route 23 not too far north of the interstate and have just had an accident. Someone please help me." The truck driver turned off the interstate and followed Route 23, deciding to answer the desperate call even though his detour would certainly make him late. As he drove slowly along Route 23, he noticed some headlights in the ditch at the side of the road. He stopped his rig and ran to the scene of the accident. No other traffic had passed; he was apparently the first to get to the scene. The man in the car looked pretty bad; he was covered with blood. The trucker searched in the man's car for the CB he had used to issue his plea for help. But though he looked high and low, he could find no radio. He ran back to his truck and called for emergency help, which arrived soon afterward. The accident victim was taken to a nearby hospital, and the trucker was told that his chances of recovering were good. The trucker was soon on the interstate again, happy that he had helped. He knew that if he hadn't responded to the radio call for help, the man might have died. Still, he puzzled over the absence of a CB in the man's car. How had he called for help? he wondered. He couldn't explain the incident, but he knew it would be forever etched on his memory. Years later that same truck driver went on a fishing trip with some friends. While on the trip, he had a heart attack. One of his companions remembered that a nearby resident's father, who was a doctor, was visiting her. They carried the unconscious trucker to the house. The doctor worked skillfully to save the trucker's life, and soon the man opened his eyes. The first person he saw was the accident victim whose life he had helped save years before. The trucker, who had gone out of his way to save a stranger's life, had unknowingly saved his own! REFLECT: Have you ever saved anyone's life? Do you know anyone who has saved a life? Do you know anyone whose life has been saved? Why is saving human lives a good thing? How do the lives of others benefit you? How does your life benefit others? PRAY: "God, I thank you that you care so much about me. Help me see others the way you see them and to value others the way you value them. Help me also to recognize the many ways that my life is better because of those around me."