"Love Your Neighbor As Yourself"

The story is told that one day a man was walking down a long hot road. He came to a shade tree and decided to sit down and rest awhile. When he sat down, he saw a sign upon which was written, “Come inside the gate where there is a cool spring.” Once he went inside the gate to get a drink, he saw a basket of apples with a sign upon which was written, “If you like apples — eat some.” The man met the owner and found out that he enjoyed meeting people and helping his fellow man. The event inspired the man, S.W. Foss, to write the following poem, "The House By The Side Of The Road":

"There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;

There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran;
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of man go by
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.

I would not sit in the scorner’s seat
Nor hurl the cynic’s ban
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man" (see rest of poem here).

Beloved, Jesus was a people-person! (and so is God!). In His life and ministry, He touched many. In His sacrifice, He touched all. I am reminded of the man with leprosy (Mark 1); Zacchaeus, the tax collector (Luke 19); the woman at Jacob’s well (John 4); the woman who suffered 12 years with an issue of blood (Mark 5). Caring for people required time, effort and inconvenience …… and it still does!

May God help us to enjoy meeting people and helping our fellow man — especially to see the love of God through the life offered through Jesus. —John Helbig

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets