Loving Others… by Pastor Dan Meyer

This past week I found myself alone and hungry one evening so I decided to go out for a bite to eat.  I ordered up my mountain of food with a side of lard and then my heart sank as I reached in my pocket and found… nothing. No wallet. No cash. It was as empty as my stomach.

The girl read my face before she even heard my words and she said, “Don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone at sometime. I will just comp it to you.” She punched in a few numbers and signed a piece of paper as I fumbled with my words and thought of a plan.  I wanted to repay. I didn’t want to rely on grace.

I thought of a plan to repay and told her that I knew someone that worked there and I would give the money to that person to pay my debt. When she heard the name of the person, she said, “That isn’t helping your cause… they don’t work here any more.” Along with those words came some knowing looks between other employees who were watching my awkward reliance on grace and I realized that something had gone terribly wrong with the person I mentioned.  I stopped that part of the conversation and thanked them so much for being gracious and let them know that I was truly appreciative… but inside my heart was sinking.

You see, the person I mentioned is a follower of Christ.  My sinking heart wasn’t because of judgment or condemnation. I wasn’t angry with this person. I was upset because of reputation… because the door was closed to let them know that person was part of my community of faith and that person was an ambassador for Christ.

King David was a man after God’s own heart but he let himself get into a series of events in 1 Samuel 11 that led to lust, adultery, lies, murder and the death of a child. The man who was sent to speak the truth to him told him that he had given opportunity to the surrounding people to blaspheme God. The story didn’t have anywhere to go but forward from there and David repented and God turned the garbage into gold but this was a time where David experienced his deepest and most painful revelation of himself – he had stabbed God in the back and God still loved him.

This week I experienced grace from a non-Christian and the bad reputation from a follower of Christ. It made me realize again the great grace of God that uses people for good whether they acknowledge Him or not and it made me remember the times in the past when I was not the best employee (stealing from an employer, not working diligently, not bringing the blessings of God to the workplace, punching the clock and just working for my money instead of helping the business grow).

Loving others doesn’t just mean buying them a coffee or mowing their grass or giving them a meal. Loving others also means living life in such a way that you don’t hinder them from being able to see and experience God. Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as you continue to live a life glorifying God as His ambassador.

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