Sunday, January 22, 2017

Love Thy Neighbor

Most of us are very familiar with the commandment found in Mark 12:30-31 (also found in other books of scripture) that states, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
"And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, There is none other commandment greater than these." We've come to understand better what it means to love God and His children and how to show and greater develop that love. But I wonder how truly we actually understand what that means. In my house we have a huge window that faces the street and I get to people watch while doing my homework. This past week I watched as people passed each other on the street and didn't even acknowledge the existence of the other human being and I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed; disappointed in myself, because I know I do it all the time, and in how that is the social norm in our society and world today.We tend to shut out the world around us when going from place to place, which is okay sometimes. We need that time to be by ourselves and think and figure things out as we walk. Too often, however, it's just to get to where we're going a little "faster" by not having to bother with the exhaustion of personal interaction.
There were two men specifically that caught my eye as they passed each other. They weren't just avoiding eye contact or ignoring one another, there was simply no recognition of the fact there there was another living human. I couldn't help but think, "but we were all together in heaven! That's your brother! How can you just ignore him like that?!"
What I'm trying to say in all of this is that we all knew each other and we're all here on the earth now trying to make sense of it all, trying to become better and overcome the hardships of life. I think the least we can do to show and feel a little more of that familiar love we had once felt for each other before this life is acknowledge each other. Make eye contact and smile. We'll all feel a little better. Love God and His children with a little more heart and soul, a little more thought, and a little more strength.

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