Chapter 22

        "Love your neighbor as yourself," sounds easier said than done.  "I love my neighbor!" you say.  Okay, that's great- but what about the people you see on a regular basis that you aren't so fond of?  Consider also those to be your neighbors.  What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?  Well for one thing, treating them as you would want to be treated.  But it goes so much farther than that.   How many of us would do something for ourself- but not for another person?  Those are the things you should do for your neighbor.  Things unordinary.  Love them.  Show the love of Jesus through your actions.  Remember the people Jesus spent His time with while on earth- tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, the outcasts- people you wouldn't exclaim, "I love my neighbor!" about.  It was Jesus' action of love toward the unpopular that showed the true love of Christ.  Anybody can love the popular, rich, funny, good-looking, intellectual.  But it's the choice to love those who wouldn't naturally be in our friend circle or on our guest list.  We tend to view these people as unworthy of our attention, care or conversation.  But again, it was these people that Jesus reached out to and that he calls us to reach out to.  The key part about this verse isn't the "neighbor" but rather "love as yourself".  Jesus isn't asking us to be friendly to our neighbors, but to love them as ourselves. What does that mean for you?  For me, it was taking a homeless man for lunch.

        Actually I'll back up a bit, because it first started with me joining him on the sidewalk.  I worked at a salon in downtown MooseJaw and there was this guy who would sit on a bench and play old hymns on his guitar and sing along.  Usually I would walk on the other side of the street to get to my favorite lunch spot, Nit's Thai Cuisine.  But the Lord started a work on my heart, and I started walking by him.  I never dropped change into his guitar case, but one day I sat with him and sung along.  You should have seen the looks of astonishment.  I was a hairdresser, on a lunch break- so I was dawled up and lookin' my best, sitting beside an older, slobby man who had no teeth and wore the same outfit most days.  I spent a few lunch hours with Lawrence.  At times, it was hard, to not be embarassed or feel uncomfortable.  But this guy was singing hymns to God and I was gonna judge him because of what social status he had?  There was a day when I cried to Joey (we were dating and in college at the time), because I knew the Lord was doing a work in me by spending my time with Lawrence, and it was a good work that he did.  There was a day when the Lord pressed me even further, and one day as I was passing by Lawrence to go Nit's Thai Cuisine, I asked if he would join me.  That was an interesting lunch (and a long one for a guy who had no teeth!).  We didn't have much to talk about, it was definitely awkward, but I truly loved this guy, and it was a love that had been given to me from my Father.

        By this story, I'm not saying I have it together, because today, I would probably be challenged by the same insecurity of putting my reputation on the line to spend with a man like Lawrence, but I was loving him, like I love myself. Honestly, I enjoyed it. It even brings tears to my eyes now, because I know that my fear of people's persecution was greater at that time than my desire to love another human being.  God changed my heart and uprooted some of that fear, and planted seeds of a love that I never had before.

        If there is someone that has been placed on your heart, I would encourage you to ask God to show you and teach you how to love that person.  It might be uncomfortable at first, but you will be pruned on the inside for His work and displaying His love.  It's worth it.  

On Matthew Chapter 22

• Leanne