BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY AND DO

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY AND DO

By this time in life, we are surely aware that it can be a challenging enterprise to consistently demonstrate unconditional love. Along life’s pathway, we will inevitably encounter people who ‘get on our last nerves,’ so to speak. Occasionally, such persons may be uncomfortably close to us. Sometimes, even family members and dear friends can cause us pain, and we may find ourselves observing, like King David, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psalm 41:9)

Sometimes, it is not necessarily the attitudes or actions of people that become personal irritants to us. Rather, it might be the monumental size and frequency of their personal problems that raise red flags and give us pause. Nevertheless, when we are sorely tempted on these occasions to disregard or discard others for our own comfort or convenience, we should always think twice…and even thrice. We just may not know the stressful state or the emotional condition of the person on the other side of the relationship. We simply may not know.

Consider the story of a soldier who was finally coming home to the USA after having served for two years in Vietnam. He phoned his parents from the airport in San Francisco, California.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring with me.”

“Sure,” they replied, “we would love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued. “He was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come and live with us.”

“We’re very sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.

A few days later, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building and the police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him immediately, but to their horror they discovered something they did not know, that their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like so many of us. Frankly, we find it quite easy to love those who are good-looking, or fun, or trouble-free, or easy to have around, but we may not be nearly as receptive to people who inconvenience us or take us out of our comfort zones. Most of us would rather stay away from people who are not as healthy, handsome, smart, sensible, or well off as we.

Thankfully, there is someone who will never treat us that way. We have a true friend, a loving elder brother, one who loves us unconditionally and welcomes us cordially into his forever family, regardless of how messed up we have become. His name is JESUS CHRIST. (Proverbs 18:24 – John 15:13) Question: ‘In whose life will you represent the unconditional love of Jesus by making a compassionate and empathetic deposit before the sun sets today?’ Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed!