Love your neighbor, Love your enemy...Go the extra mile!

Love your neighbor, Love your enemy…Go the extra mile!                                                                                         

by:: angie c tipton             
act now ministries
5.13.2009 

“Love your neighbor as yourself and love your enemies”. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says; If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Paul is telling us that even though we have all of these things, if we don’t have love, anything we do profits nothing.  It’s important that we use our gifts from the Lord.  But, it’s more important to have love in these things.  If we don’t, we are annoying and even potentially hurtful to others!  How important it is to simply love on another. 

Who is our neighbor and who is our enemy?  Ephesians 6:12 says; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  God’s Word tells us that it’s not people we wrestle with, but rather things in the unseen realm.  We are warring against evil spirits, not flesh.  I pray that God will open our eyes so that we may see all people simply as our neighbors…I pray that He will let us see others through His eyes.  They still may fall into that category as an enemy, but let’s make a decision to see “the enemy” as our neighbor...love your neighbor as yourself! 

Who is our neighbor? Are they the people who live next door or across the street from us? Yes, they are.  But, I believe our neighbor is anyone who crosses our path.

I have to tell you, many years ago (20+), early in my Christian walk,   I went through a phase where I was very “religious”.  Well, many things contribute to that…where I was going to church, who I was hanging around with and so on and so forth.  I had a “superior” attitude towards those who were not saved.  Because that is what I was taught, that’s what I believed…for a short while anyway.  As I grew in my relationship with Jesus, I began to see things very differently from what I was being taught.  Thankfully, God lifted me out of that “religiousness” and revealed Himself to me.  He showed me that anyone who crosses my path is my neighbor.  At that point, I began to be aware of anyone who needed a “neighbor” anywhere I went.  When I went to the grocery store, the gym, the mall, a restaurant, anywhere…I tried to always remember to ask God to bless anyone who crossed my path and also for salvation for any and all who were/are willing to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I really believe that we, as Christians, ought to be thinking along these lines and you may be doing that already.  It’s our job to be a good example and have the love of God overflowing in our lives so that others will see it….not see US….but, see the love of God working in and through us.  You never know who may cross your path that, all they really need is a little nudge towards heaven.  You may be the only person who prays for them that day, that week, that year or who knows, maybe even in their lifetime.  Love your neighbor, love your enemies!
A couple of years ago, I was at Wal-Mart just before Thanksgiving.  The store was packed with people.  It was a frenzy!  I managed to get what I needed and headed to the checkout.  I got in line...a slow line of course!  The lady in front of me had about a million items. I had about a million items.  Short version…I was going to be there for a while!  It was time to take a breath and relax.  When I did, I noticed that an elderly man had walked up and gotten in line after me.  He had only a few items, so I offered to let him go in front of me.  He chose to stay where he was.  The Lord impressed upon me that this man was lonely and just wanted some company.  I had the time.  I certainly wasn’t going anywhere any time soon!  Why not? I enjoy talking to people anyway.  I know no strangers!  So, we visited.  Being a neighbor to him was as simple as listening and responding to him.  He was a nice man…just lonely.  That day, he was my neighbor.  Before I paid for my groceries, I had the cashier add his items onto my bill.  I knew that this is what the Lord wanted me to do and essentially, I wanted to purchase those things for him.  It was a simple gesture and not even an expensive one! BUT, it made this man’s day and mine as well. This is one way of showing what Jesus meant by love your neighbors and in Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus says…GO THE EXTRA MILE, as well.

I have to say, I’m not sure who felt better when we went our separate ways.   The Love of God was there.  The love of God was seen and felt by all of us…the man, myself, and the cashier as well.  It wasn’t me doing the good deeds.  It was me, allowing God to work in and through me in this situation. Love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies…go the extra mile!!  

A few years later I was in Starbucks waiting for my coffee.  There also was a young woman with a baby there.  The baby was precious, so I approached her and told her how beautiful her little girl was.  I proceeded to get my coffee and left the store.  As I was backing out, the lady and her baby suddenly appeared beside my car.  I have to say I was somewhat startled!  I put down my window and asked if I could help her. She timidly asked me for food and supplies for her baby.  I made a list of specifics for the baby and then asked the woman if she wanted anything for herself.  She hesitated for a moment as I searched her eyes and then refused anything for herself.  I gave her some money for food while she waited on me and then I went to the store for the items. She was still there when I returned and I gave the items to her.  I have to tell you, I didn’t have a lot of extra money at the time.  The economy had just taken a dive, we had drastic pay cuts on our only income….you name it!  But, how many of you know that what we possess on this earth really isn’t ours?   It all belongs to God.  We are stewards of what He has provided for us.  God was there that day and it was my job to let Him do His work through me, not only by loving this young woman as my neighbor, but also by going the extra mile. 

God’s word says Love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies…go the extra mile! As you are out and about in your everyday life, I pray that God will open your eyes to your neighbors. Step out in faith and do something out of the ordinary for a friend, an associate or even a stranger. You'll find that Loving your neighbors, loving your enemies and going the extra mile will not only make a difference in their life, but it will also make a difference in your own life. God is good and He is faithful.  

Wisdom From “Man’s Best Friend”

angie c tipton

act now ministries

9.24.2011

Several months ago, my husband, David, decided that he wanted a dog and with all of the abandoned dogs at local shelters he decided to adopt a pet. He searched until he found what he hoped was just the right dog for our family. When we made the visitation to see if this dog was “the one,” this adorable mutt stole our hearts.  Since then, we have considered Stewie a member of our family.  Over the past several months, I’ve observed a few things about Stewie that could easily be applied to our journey with God.

Stewie has a great personality and loves to play.  It seems that his favorite game is to fetch.  I think he would fetch for hours on end if he had someone to throw a ball or anything for that length of time!  Sometimes when David is playing with him, Stewie get’s super hyper and runs through our living room like crazy.  One of the things he does is run and jumps on the sofa, banks off of the back of it, leaps to the floor, runs a circle around the coffee table and starts the entire process over again…all at lightning speed.  He’s a bundle of energy and fun to watch!  We especially get a laugh out of him when he occasionally flat out misses the jump to the sofa.  He leaps like a gazelle with full intent of landing ON the sofa, but crashes, head first into the front of it, causing him to fall to the floor.  But, he doesn’t let it faze him in the least…even our laughter doesn’t faze him.  In fact, he just picks up where he left off and keeps on keepin’ on!  Honestly, I wish that I had his insight or stick-to-itiveness years ago!  Many times when I was going full on towards a goal and “failed” (not truly a failure, I just believed it was), I let the “failure” keep me down…it kept me from moving forward for a time.  I had to realize that it really wasn’t a failure, just a stepping stone to the next leg of the journey…a time of learning and strengthening of faith.  Knowing who we are in Christ…remembering that when something doesn’t turn out the way we thought…should be enough to keep us moving on that path towards our God given dreams and goals. 

Now, Stewie LOVES to ride in the car.  When I say to Stewie…”wanna go bye-bye?” he cannot move fast enough to get beside me.  In his frenzied way, he grabs the nearest toy, runs to me and then heads for the garage.  He is always ready to go!  This made me think about us “going with God.”  I wonder just how many of us are “ready to go” when our Master calls us to go?  How many of us run to His side, raring to go wherever and whenever our Lord and Savior calls us?  That’s something to think about!

But, on the other side of that, I wonder how many times we miss that call or even worse yet, how many times we hear the call and refuse to follow for whatever reason?  With Stewie, there are times when he has figured out that when we call him, it’s time for him to stay in his crate.  At that point, he refuses to obey...it’s something that he doesn’t want to do.  In fact, there are times when he puts himself in danger by staying outside, refusing to come to us, refusing to obey and refusing to come inside to safety.  We live in the country and have many coyotes that roam around our home at night.  They’re vicious and have claimed a few of our pet cats for themselves. (and most recently our try at raising chickens)  In Stewie’s hardheadedness, “self wisdom” and lack of true understanding, he puts himself in danger.  We only want what is best for him because, even though he is a dog, we consider him a part of our family and we love him. I believe that there are times in our lives when God is calling us, but for whatever reason, lack of understanding, hardheadedness, “self wisdom,” or just plain ‘ol rebellion, we refuse to follow Him.  I believe that, just like the danger that is out there awaiting Stewie in the darkness of night, when we refuse to follow God, we are leaving ourselves in a place of possible danger, therefore allowing the enemy access to us.  Oh how important it is that we put God first in our lives…always, not just when it is convenient!  We need to realize that not only does He love us; He loves us unconditionally and always, no matter what! So, even if we were to find ourselves away from God, off that path that He has for us, we are assured of His unconditional love for us.  And, if we ask for it, He will guide us back to where He wants us.  We are His children and He only wants what is best for us.  He has said He will never leave us or forsake us.  (By the way, we’re working with Stewie to correct his behavior and God will do the same with us if/when He needs to.)    

In the evenings after working all day, David likes to watch TV.  Stewie is perfectly content just lying beside David, his master…simply just being in his presence.  This, I believe, is another quality that we can see in “man’s best friend” and apply to our own lives.  Are we content with simply being with our Master? Or, do we feel the need to constantly “do something”…believing the lie that we must always be “doing something for the Lord?”  There is a time when we should simply “be” with our Master and a time when we should be active, as well.  Activity should not be confused with intimacy with our Lord and Savior…our Master.

Earlier I told of how my husband searched patiently until he found the perfect pet for our family.  That is how God seeks after us.  But, the time and energy my husband spent is only a tiny fraction of a fraction of the time and energy that God uses to seek us…yes, each and every one of us!  He loves us all equally…He is no respecter of persons.  We are all made perfectly in His eyes, as we each have our own giftings and works to use/do in our lifetime…that is, if we give ourselves over to Him fully. 

I urge you, if you haven’t already, to ask Jesus into your heart, surrender to Him and live for Him wholly.  He will not lead you astray.  He will NEVER leave you or forsake you.  Let’s take some of this wisdom from “man’s best friend” and apply it to our journey with our Master.  I assure you, it IS a great adventure!