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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"About Neighbors and Miracles"
March 17, 2010
What does it mean to love our neighbor as our self? As Christians we need
to know the answer to this question. Jesus lifts it up as part of the Great
Commandment. He suggests that to love God with all our being and to love
our neighbor are two sides of the same coin.
Jesus makes many references to the ways in which we are to love the
neighbor. When I read that Jesus healed the ear of the soldier who arrested
him outside the garden of Gethsamene, I come away amazed at the depths
we are called in living out this commandment.
Love is an integral part of our calling as his disciples. When asked who is
our neighbor, Jesus shares the story of the good Samaritan. This was a man
who was despised in religious circles. Yet Jesus makes him the hero in the
way he responded to a person in need.
Loving our neighbor is a sacrificial act. It is putting the needs of another
before our own. I heard a wonderful story that perfectly illustrates this the
other day. I ran into my friend, Dr. Jerry Lowney. He and his wife Virginia
founded the Haitian Health Foundation over twenty years ago.
A few weeks after the terrible earthquake hit Haiti and left the country in
turmoil, Jerry made his way down to his health clinic in the village of
Jeremie. He had heard that over 50,000 refuges had descended on the area.
His staff told him that he would not be able to believe what was happening
until he saw it with his own eyes.
Jerry told me he expected to see one of the largest tent cities he could
imagine. He arrived and was amazed that there was not one tent to be
found. Then he was told that every single refugee had been taken in by the
people of the villages. It was a miracle. These people, who had so little of
their own, had internalized the message of the gospel and welcomed the
stranger, the unknown neighbor, into their humble homes.
Imagine how the world would be transformed if all of us followed their
example. We would begin to see God's kingdom on earth. So go ahead and
find ways to love your neighbor and see what happens. You just might see a
miracle occur before your eyes.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
March 17, 2010
What does it mean to love our neighbor as our self? As Christians we need
to know the answer to this question. Jesus lifts it up as part of the Great
Commandment. He suggests that to love God with all our being and to love
our neighbor are two sides of the same coin.
Jesus makes many references to the ways in which we are to love the
neighbor. When I read that Jesus healed the ear of the soldier who arrested
him outside the garden of Gethsamene, I come away amazed at the depths
we are called in living out this commandment.
Love is an integral part of our calling as his disciples. When asked who is
our neighbor, Jesus shares the story of the good Samaritan. This was a man
who was despised in religious circles. Yet Jesus makes him the hero in the
way he responded to a person in need.
Loving our neighbor is a sacrificial act. It is putting the needs of another
before our own. I heard a wonderful story that perfectly illustrates this the
other day. I ran into my friend, Dr. Jerry Lowney. He and his wife Virginia
founded the Haitian Health Foundation over twenty years ago.
A few weeks after the terrible earthquake hit Haiti and left the country in
turmoil, Jerry made his way down to his health clinic in the village of
Jeremie. He had heard that over 50,000 refuges had descended on the area.
His staff told him that he would not be able to believe what was happening
until he saw it with his own eyes.
Jerry told me he expected to see one of the largest tent cities he could
imagine. He arrived and was amazed that there was not one tent to be
found. Then he was told that every single refugee had been taken in by the
people of the villages. It was a miracle. These people, who had so little of
their own, had internalized the message of the gospel and welcomed the
stranger, the unknown neighbor, into their humble homes.
Imagine how the world would be transformed if all of us followed their
example. We would begin to see God's kingdom on earth. So go ahead and
find ways to love your neighbor and see what happens. You just might see a
miracle occur before your eyes.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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