SCRIPTURE

Caring for the Children

Saul

I had the conviction that I wasn’t living correctly in relation to people. Fighting people in traffic and at work. It would start with frustration and go downhill from there.  I felt separated from everyone. My family, friends and I were my own little bubble. The people at work and acquaintances were in another. I knew that other people in the world were his children, but the reality of my everyday life didn’t reflect that.

I’ve always been sensitive to the emotions of others and can tell immediately when something is on someone’s mind. But when frustration in life came in, anyone nearby became my adversary. And my number one goal was getting back on top, over the waves so that I could have my peace again. The problem was, in those moments of turbulence, the people around me and what they wanted were an afterthought.

I realized this contradicted how we are to feel and live. GOD calls us to love all His children. If we don’t have that love to help them and guide them then we are lost. Love means that when things go south, we don’t let our circle of attention narrow to just ourselves. It should not be. Our walk is also, if not most about who we are under pressure.

Jesus said, if we don’t love his children the love of the Father is not in us¹1 John 4:20. Christ tells us to feed his sheep²John 21:15. His food is His word³John 6:51. This also means not throwing pearls before swine⁴Matthew 7:6. His sheep hear His voice and that is who He is for⁵John 10:27.

I prayed about this and a short time later, I was in the grocery store and this time, I tried to put my finger on it, there was this unusual feeling about the place. I realized, I was not seeing the people around me as strangers or enemies but as brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. It was very different. And from that time onward, I have tried to pay special attention to how I’m seeing others in everyday life as a marker for my spiritual walk.

It doesn’t mean I’m overly gregarious or jumping out to shake their hand, but it means that I have them in mind and when I’m walking correctly, I’m able to see and act the needs of others. Even if that’s just moving out of someone’s way, who has been have a bad day. Helping someone pick up something or letting people who are in a rush get in front of me at the register.