Verse: John 13:34
34 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.
Devotional Thoughts:
On Monday, the Children’s Ministry took a trip to the Venture River Waterpark. It ended up being a great day to go – the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the lines to the slides were almost nonexistent.
While waiting for our group to raft down one of the bigger slides, I struck up a conversation with the lifeguard standing there. The following is a condensed version of my conversation with him. It went something like this:
Me: Perfect day to be at a waterpark isn’t it?
Lifeguard: Yeah, you can’t ask for much better weather than this.
Me: Is this your first summer working out here?
Lifeguard: Yes it is. I started in May so I’m starting to get the hang of it.
Me: That’s neat. You enjoy the work?
Lifeguard: For the most part. One of the things about the job that has surprised me is just how often we get yelled at by people who come out to the park. It’s nothing for a parent to get upset and start shouting at us because their child isn’t tall enough to go on a certain slide.
Me: That would be frustrating. And it’s not like you have anything to do with making the rules either. I can see where that would lead to a tough workday.
Lifeguard: Yeah it does sometimes. And frankly, this past month has been tough for me in general. Last month, my uncle committed suicide. And I saw him.
Me: Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that. Were you and him close?
Lifeguard: Yes we were. But I’m confident that I will see him again someday.
Me: Was he a Christian?
Lifeguard: Yes he was, and so am I .
Me: Well, how are you holding up?
The conversation continued on from there for a little while.
Points to Ponder:
I was reflecting on this encounter later. It seemed obvious that this man needed to talk to someone who would listen and be interested in what he had to say.
It made me wonder – how many times have I left conversations on the table because I’m not interested, for whatever reason, in striking up a conversation?
It’s so easy to follow the everyday scripts of life and essentially ignore those around us who could possibly need encouragement, comfort, or even prayer. It’s easy to follow those everyday scripts – “I have a headache.” “I’m in a hurry.” “I don’t know that person.” “I’m just shy.”
One of the incredible things about Jesus is that he always had time for those around him. Remember when he was on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter? A lady in the crowd touched his cloak, and Jesus takes the time out of his busy schedule in order to talk with her.
Jesus has called us to love others as he has loved us. As part of that, we need to be willing to engage the community around us. And that starts with simply starting conversations with the people we encounter every day.
So, as you go about your week, set a goal. Set a goal to start a conversation this week with someone you don’t know, or at least don’t know that well. Who can you talk with?
