Recently our youth group hit the streets of New Day’s surrounding neighborhoods, to knock on doors and ask if people had any spare cans they could donate to our pop can drive fundraiser for the upcoming Tennessee mission trip. As we split into small teams of 2-3 and started actually getting to meet with & talk to our neighbors, I was hit with the revelation of a choice I had each time someone opened their door to hear me: was I going to simply go through the script and try to get cans from them, or was I going to intentionally try to make a connection with and loving impact on this person? Boiled down—was I reducing them to a transaction, or was I seeing them as a person to love and connect with?
In today’s day and age, I find this decision to be one we make all the time. Sure, we usually don’t even need to think about it when it comes to our friends and family, but what about the other people we see in our day-to-day lives? That barista at your favorite coffee shop, the person who held the door open for you, the grocery store clerk at the checkout? Our lives are full of interaction with those in our social spheres (especially so with social media), and yet how often do we not even think about how we treat these quick connections? I know I’m certainly guilty of not sparing half a thought at times.
In chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, Jesus actually speaks into this, laying out clearly what is one of the definitive marks of a Christian. In the final moments of the Last Supper, as He is sharing with His disciples for one of the last times before His crucifixion, He states “a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV).
How should the world see us? What should people take away from our interactions? How will they know we’re Christians?
Our love.
When I knock on a neighbor’s door and ask if they have any cans to donate, I have an opportunity to show love and thankfulness, even if they don’t give anything to me. When I’m at the checkout, I can choose to look into the clerk’s eyes and smile, treating them like a person rather than a transaction. When I see an opinion I disagree with online, instead of ridiculing them under my breath, I can choose to love them and bless them.
So dear friends, let us keep this ever on our hearts, both when it comes naturally and when it takes effort. The love we show to each other and those around us is the lens through which we demonstrate the love of Christ. Even if it’s small, it makes a miraculous impact.