Wes Autrey. An average guy, father of three, doing what he had done maybe a thousand times. On Jan. 2, he was standing in the subway station in Manhattan, waiting on his train. What happened next, to put it mildly, is history.
Bob WeathersAutrey saw a 19-year-old man, Cameron Hollopeter, apparently having a seizure. With two other bystanders, Autrey aided Hollopeter and helped him through this trauma. But following the seizure, Hollopeter stumbled away from the group and suddenly fell off the platform and onto the subway tracks. Autrey jumped from the platform, grabbed Hollopeter, and rolled with him into a drainage trench, preventing trains from striking either of them.
Autrey was an instant hero. The media dubbed him the “Subway Superman,” he appeared on talk shows and was showered with gifts. Donald Trump gave him $10,000, and the city of New York presented him with its Bronze Medallion, the city’s highest award for exceptional citizenship. He even earned his own entry in Wikipedia.org, the online encyclopedia. Now that’s fame.
But as he was peppered with accolades, perhaps no greater statement emerged than the perspective offered by his mother, Mary Autrey. Commenting on her son’s achievement, she said, “I am proud of him that God had him in the right place at the right time so he could help somebody. That’s our upbringing, helping people.”
That is, her son’s opportunity was no accident, no capricious toss of fate. Instead, it demonstrated the steady hand of God, coupled with the simple life-purpose she had instilled in her boy. You can almost hear her saying, “Helping people. That’s what we do. So be ready. And God will give you a chance.”
The right place. The right time. What are you here for? And will you do it when the chance arises? Jesus concisely commanded, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), and the phrase famously means, “as you go, make disciples.” Here’s your purpose, he said. Go and look for the opportunities, for God will give you chances to do what he has asked you to do. Eternity hangs in the balance, so “make the most of every opportunity” (Col. 3:5).
Making disciples. That’s what we do. Now, go, be ready, and seize the chance when it comes.