An acquaintance posed this question the other night: How would you treat the person closest to you if you knew that today was her last day? Not only your husband, your parents, or your children, but whoever is in a close proximity at any given time: a waitress, a cashier, the bag boy at the supermarket... Would you still be that indifferent? Still run out of patience? Still wished they did not show up for work? The exercise was a subtle reminder to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves.
What if, however, a crisis came unexpectedly and found you praying for someone's well being and hoping for an opportunity to be nice to them once more? My aunt Olga Lucia is in the ICU tonight. She is battling an aggressive infection caused by a peritonitis, which was triggered by stones in her gall bladder. She is unconscious. She had dialysis in the evening. Her siblings, children, and grandchildren are at the hospital, as close as they can be, waiting for some news.
They are far away. I cannot show up at the hospital, but I can call. I cannot tell her how much she means to me, but I can write about her. Tonight I can show my love by praying for her life.
What am I going to do tomorrow? How will I show my 'neighbors' the love I want to show to my aunt?
Mark 12:31 ...the second is this: love your neighbor as your self. There is no commandment greater than these.
