This one is a ‘can do’
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” —Matthew 22:39b
I hope you are at peace with the things you cannot do well. Maybe you are tech challenged and words like ‘sequence’ and ‘exact’ aren’t your thing. For example, I am an ‘about’ guy. If I tap most of the digits in your phone number, I should be able to speak with you on the first try. Majority rules, right?
Sometimes we worry about the things we cannot do, then age, which is usually considered a downer, comes along and, in time, we get to a place of peace with what is not naturally in our skillset.
Play your strengths. Let me write your toast at your daughter’s wedding instead of playing with a power tool. Let me play in dirt during planting season while you play with the setup of a new computer. Let me coach contestants on what to say during the interview time with Alex Trebek on the gameshow Jeopardy rather than stand with a clicker in my hand.
There are a lot of things we cannot do, but for all of us there is one really good thing we can do—we can love our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus gets us. He knows we may not always succeed at keeping the commandments, but our longstanding desire to be aligned with God is there, even when we sidestep.
Rather than spending an inordinate amount of time thinking that this ‘loving your neighbor thing’ is something you cannot do because loving ‘him’, ‘her’, or ‘those’ people is [insert your excuse here], flip it. Let Jesus smile as you consider how loving your neighbor is something you can do well.
Write that speech with the father of the bride. Hold the hand of the bride when she gets nervous, overwhelmed, or weepy. Fill the bride’s hands with flowers you’ve grown or expertly arranged. Build the newlyweds something that actually requires power tools. Gift the newlyweds or the upstart soccer league with cash from your earnings on Jeopardy. You can do this love thing.
PRAYER: Lord, remind me that love is good. And love is easy to share with all neighbors, those close and those not close. Amen.
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