Love Your Neighbor

There was a man who went to his barber to get a haircut, but once there he found out that his barber had to leave but he could get a haircut from Fran. When Fran came out to greet him, she was covered with tattoos and piercings. She had purple, green and red spikes in her hair. The man was concerned what she might do with his hair, but he sat down, and she started to cut. She asked what he did for a living, and he said he was a pastor at the church down the street. The girl quickly replied “OH! I was there the other day. You see, my mom and uncle are cocaine addicts, and someone gave them a copy of the “Left Behind” movie which we watched. She immediately said she didn’t know anything about Jesus, but she does NOT want to go to hell. So, I went and bought a bible.”  The preacher then said, “well, Fran, I am so sorry I never told you about Jesus before but if you will wait here, I will be back with a bible, and we will do a bible study together so that you can know Jesus.”  

One of this pastor’s reasons for sharing the story was that he had judged this girl based on her looks. We all do it. But more than that, what hit me was, this pastor didn’t just leave it at that, he went back and got a bible and introduced her to Jesus! How often do we miss a chance to tell someone about our Jesus? 

I have no doubt that if this girl, her mom and uncle really come to Jesus, He will deliver them from their issues.

I read this today: There’s a reason Jesus was a carpenter. He takes what is broken and rebuilds it. Repairs it, Restores it. We go into His workshop falling apart, and we emerge completely brand new! Unrecognizable. There isn’t anything Jesus can’t fix.

You do not have to be a cocaine addict to need Jesus. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. We ALL need Him and that’s good because if we didn’t, we would not pursue a relationship with Him and we would miss heaven! Our “job” here on earth is to take as many people with us to heaven as possible. 

Mark 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

If we love others, we do not want them to experience hell. This year let’s be bold for Christ. Pray that he will give you words to say and the opportunity to serve. Thank you, Lord for your saving Grace and your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Shirlene Peterson