I COULD HAVE JUST SAT THERE

Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting—and any other commandment—are all summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements.

Romans 13:8-10

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL LINK

The Upper Room - 08/07/06

I was blessed to spend this past Friday evening and Saturday at Promise Keepers in the Jackson Coliseum. The Word and the worship were a blessing. More than that was the blessing I received from my neighbor.

Among the approximately 9000 men there, I was seated next to a young boy from South Carolina, attending PK with his brother, father and grandfather. He was about 7th or 8th grade. He sang along with the music, clapping his hands and patting his feet. He was very attentive to the speakers. He appeared to be taking it all in and enjoying it.

I could have just sat there and not acknowledged him. In a crowd like that, you could get away with not speaking to your neighbor. I could have spent all my time talking with the guy on my other side who I had known for years. But no, that was not the Lord’s plan. The Holy Spirit told me to tell this young boy how pleased He was that he was there and how much he was loved. When I spoke to him, there came a beautiful smile on his face. We spent the rest of our time, smiling at each other when we heard something that touched our hearts, locking arms when we prayed … neighbors loving each other.

I will pray for my young brother in Christ who I may never see again. We come from different worlds (states, ages, races) but I am glad our paths crossed. I am hopeful that the experience was as special for him as it was for me and it will help him to see those from other worlds as neighbors loved by God.