Today's reading: Leviticus 19, 20, 21; Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, 127; Proverbs 7
Leviticus 19:18, "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD."
When I was growing up I received a bb gun for my birthday. You have read the story. I was so angry at a neighbor boy that I shot him in the ankle with the bb gun. Some years later as I stood in one of those quick oil change businesses the guy working the counter looked at my name and then my face and exclaimed, "You shot my brother!" Wow!
Yes, it was the younger brother of the boy that I had shot all those years ago. I was embarrassed beyond belief. My wife did not know what to do as she stood there listening to what he said. The other customers in the business began to look at me like I was a famous criminal. There were some tense moments there for a while.
My point today is that I did not love my neighbor as myself that day. We do not have to teach ourselves to love ourselves. Unfortunately, we just love ourselves automatically. If I had loved my neighbor as myself, I would have gone to him again and tried to talk to him about the offense. It is too late for that now. Maybe one day I will be able to meet him somewhere in life and I will be able to apologize. I hope so.
So, how are we doing at loving our neighbor? Have we put ourselves aside long enough to love our neighbor? I hope so.
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