Love Thy Neighbor

This week I have been thinking alot about what is really important in life? What matters? I have a tendency to watch people. I drive down the road and wonder where the people are going and how many are lost or hurting? Am I just going about my business or do I notice when my co-worker needs to talk, when my neighbor feels like there is no way out, when my family needs more of my time, or when my friend just needs me to listen? Do I even notice?

I wonder about the guy across the street from me who decided to put a shotgun to his chest and blow himself away. What was he thinking? Did he even consider the effect it would have on his wife and kid when they came home and found him in the front room of their home? What drove him to that point, why did he think it was the only way out? Why didn't we notice something was wrong? Why didn't we sense he felt hopeless? Am I too caught up in what I am doing to notice my neighbor is hurting?

Then I wonder about the man who was laying in the street last week who was found curled up in a fetal position. He was hit in the face by a young 21 year old male. When he hit the ground, he hit his head on the cement. He was careflighted to a local hospital, but died later in intensive care. Now his life is over and so is the young man who hit him, who is charged with murder. What were they doing? What was the thing that made him so angry, worth going to prison for the rest of his life?

What about the thirty year old man whose body was found in the lake? Did he end it himself or did someone do something to him? I wonder who he left behind? I wonder who missed him? I wonder if he planned it? Who did he leave behind?

What about the twenty two year old female who was working where my sister works. She said she wasn't feeling well. She thought there was a problem with her insulin, so she called her mom on the phone. She'd only been working for a week, her mother told her to suck it up and stay at work. She finally convinced her mom to come and get her. That night she laid down, then got up really sick, her mother took her to the hospital, she had a blood infection, she died the next morning.

God is always watching, He sees us when we are hurting. He also sees us when we pass others by. I think about the Good Samaritan. In the story there were those who passed by, then there was the one who stopped and did what He could. I hope God opens my eyes to those I can reach in my neighborhood, at my workplace, in my family, so I am not the one who just walks by, but I stop and do what I can. Mother Teresa was just a little pencil in God's hand and she was used mightily, she was Jesus to all those she ministered to. How humbling it is for me to think about her service for Christ.

One person can make a difference. I want to be an inspiration, not for my recognition or glory but for His! I want to be a light, a tiny match setting a forest fire! This week, I am going to look for anyone I see who is hurting, I am going to purposely see who I can help everyday. I mean like people I usually just pass by, I am going to let Jesus love them through me. I am going to love my neighbor!