There are two insurance commercials out there right now that have caught my attention. They both speak volumes in such a short time frame and contain powerful messages. The first is a commercial that shows a person needing help and out of the blue, a stranger comes over and helps her. Standing nearby is a third person who just happens to see the act of kindness. Soon, this third person sees another stranger needing help and goes to their rescue with a quick act of kindness. Across the street a fourth person who has seen this act of kindness and in turn helps yet another stranger. This chain reaction of people offering help to complete strangers is repeated over and over again. A second commercial uses a tag line that caught my ear before it caught my eye: “Let’s treat people more like they’re in your home and less like they’re in your way.”
Remarkable. Are these two secular T.V. commercials really espousing the idea that we should actually jump in and help complete strangers? Are we to truly take that idea a step further and treat everyone we meet as more than just strangers- treat them as important and loved family members?
Most Christians can recite the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (found in Mat 7:12). Most can tell you that Jesus said the two greatest commandments were, to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-38). How does our quickness in recitation compare to our resolve toward faithful action?
During this season of Lent (what is Lent? Click here) we should take time to consider the words and actions that fall short of glorifying God. Not to beat ourselves up, but to simply recognize that a course correction is needed- in our personal lives and in the lives of Christ’s church. How often do we justify our words of anger toward others and block out Christ’s call to love, even our enemies? Lent is a time to put an end to calling yourself a Christian and in the next breath speaking words that tear down instead of build up. Lent is a time to awaken from our tendency to sleep-walk though the journey of faith. It’s a time to commit senseless acts of kindness and a time to see people around you with new eyes, opened by Christ. It’s a time to make peace and mend fences. It’s a time to remember the joy of salvation and invite God to renew your spirit. Today I leave you with John’s words:
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)
Remarkable. Are these two secular T.V. commercials really espousing the idea that we should actually jump in and help complete strangers? Are we to truly take that idea a step further and treat everyone we meet as more than just strangers- treat them as important and loved family members?
Most Christians can recite the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (found in Mat 7:12). Most can tell you that Jesus said the two greatest commandments were, to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat 22:37-38). How does our quickness in recitation compare to our resolve toward faithful action?
During this season of Lent (what is Lent? Click here) we should take time to consider the words and actions that fall short of glorifying God. Not to beat ourselves up, but to simply recognize that a course correction is needed- in our personal lives and in the lives of Christ’s church. How often do we justify our words of anger toward others and block out Christ’s call to love, even our enemies? Lent is a time to put an end to calling yourself a Christian and in the next breath speaking words that tear down instead of build up. Lent is a time to awaken from our tendency to sleep-walk though the journey of faith. It’s a time to commit senseless acts of kindness and a time to see people around you with new eyes, opened by Christ. It’s a time to make peace and mend fences. It’s a time to remember the joy of salvation and invite God to renew your spirit. Today I leave you with John’s words:
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)
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