Think smaller: Loving the people on our path
I was with my two boys at a playground in the next town over when I saw her. I tried to duck behind the swing set pole so she wouldn’t see me, because the truth was, I didn’t think I had the capacity to handle her neediness that day. The sheer number of issues in her life, which she had shared at church and at our mom’s group, were overwhelming.
In Luke chapter 10, when the teacher of the law asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, Jesus said to love God and love your neighbor. When the man pressed in and asked “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29) Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. Many insights can be gleaned from that parable, to be sure. Maybe the simplest one is this: your neighbor is anyone who crosses your path.
But in our global, interconnected, digital world, everyone is on our path. Caring can lead to cause burnout. It becomes so easy to throw up our hands in the face of it all, believing that we are too small to make any kind of difference by loving others well.
Maybe it’s time to think smaller. Maybe it’s time to shrink down to our in-real-life lives. Maybe it’s time to take a look around and see who is on our actual path.
A close reading of a story in the gospel of Matthew gives us a wonderful mental image. It says:
“When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” (Matthew 8:1-3, NIV)
Jesus is walking on a path, when a sick man literally blocks his way by kneeling before him. Jesus could have tripped if he’d been in a hurry or not paying attention. The man asks for healing from his leprosy. If God had not been willing, Jesus would have had to change his path to walk around him. But of course, Jesus has compassion. He does not think of us as pesky interruptions to his agenda: we ARE his agenda.
The other mom found me on the playground that day. She did not need me to solve all of her problems. She just wanted to share the troubles on her heart. My own heart softened toward her. I had exactly what she needed: a listening ear.
Look around you. Who are the people in your everyday life? Who is in your path? Chances are, they need your love today. We cannot save the world, but reaching out in love might make a world of difference to our neighbors.
Scripture for meditation
When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
(Matthew 8:103, NIV)
Prompts for reflection and journaling
Who are the people on your path today?
How can you love them well?
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