Love your neighbor as yourself

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

We are not to seek revenge for a wrong done to us nor are we to dwell on the trespass and use it against the offender to berate or harass them. We must both forgive and forget the trespass against us, for in the same way we are forgiven of God. We are to love our neighbors are we love ourselves for this is what The Lord desires.

 

 

In Portland, Oregon, the homeless gather under the Burnside Bridge. For more than three years, carloads of Christians from Bridgetown Ministries have shown up on Friday nights and ministered to these needy men and women. In addition to providing hot meals, shaves, and haircuts, some of the volunteers wash the homeless people's feet. Tom Krattenmaker, a writer for USA Today, was stunned by the display, calling it "one of the most audacious acts of compassion and humility I have ever witnessed."

This group of society's outcasts had their bare feet immersed in warm water, scrubbed, dried, powdered, and placed in clean socks. One man reported with a smile, "I can't find the words to describe how good that felt."

Krattenmaker commented on the significance of this foot washing: "Washing someone's feet is an act best performed while kneeling. Given the washer's position, and the unpleasant appearance and odor of a homeless person's feet, it's hard to imagine an act more humbling."

In preparation for their outreach, the leader of Bridgetown Ministries offered these words: "When you go out there tonight, I want you to look for Jesus. You might see him in the eyes of a drunk person, a homeless person…we're just out there to love on people." [Tom Krattenmaker, "A Witness to What Faith Can Be," USA Today (12-18-06); submitted by John Beukema, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania]

 

Can you imagine being homeless and these strangers come in to minister to you in ways that you could not have imagined? You find yourself with a hot meal, a shave and a haircut, and even clean feet with clean socks. Now that is showing love for your fellow mankind to reach out in kindness and do for them what you would wish for if you were in their position.