Faith involves muscle. Moving mountains isn’t finger crossing. Our walk requires the next step and the step after that. Something about an extra mile…- Pick up the phone and call, or text, the wild child in your family tree.
- Pick up a pen and write a note of encouragement to a shut in.
- Pick up after someone else’s pet.
Acts of faith are the rope bridge between our isolation and the world Jesus came to save. A smile, a kind word, and a twenty dollar bill in the street musician’s tip jar make a case for believing this is the day that the Lord has made. Someone might rejoice in it for us having picked up our cross to cross their path. Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) Love is such an extraordinary thing that its revelation in our daily life points to the One who first loved us while we were yet sinners.
To love the unlovable was Jesus’ joy and His command to us. Homosexual nuptial, unwed mother, dead beat dad, high school bully, wrong skinned foreigner, mortgage banker, Wall Street occupier, owner of the barking dog, or the 7a.m. lawnmower rider. Hardly a complete list. Judge not, that you be not judged. He was kidding, right?
This is the day to trust that you can’t be too compassionate, too kind, too gentle, too forgiving. What happens if we make a mistake and
show consideration for the the wrong person? What if our friendship and silent witness doesn’t lead to repentance and conversion? Pick up the pieces and start over. Don’t stop til you have twelve baskets full to overflowing.
show consideration for the the wrong person? What if our friendship and silent witness doesn’t lead to repentance and conversion? Pick up the pieces and start over. Don’t stop til you have twelve baskets full to overflowing.
