The wonders of the internet — posting while under anesthesia…stay tuned for the “rest of the story” tomorrow:)
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and theleopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Isaiah 11:6-9
I was out for my endorphin high, walking in the next neighborhood, thinking of this most difficult passage I had just read. No, it’s not difficult to understand – these words about the peace that will preside in these last days is pretty plain – it’s difficult because I know we are commanded by Christ to live into this passage about reconciliation even now. That’s the hard part!
So I was praying – asking God – what does it mean for me to love my neighbors and my enemies, how can I possibly do this. I remembered I should pray for my enemies, particularly the sin that hardens my own heart. I tried to imagine the possibility of sitting in the same room with certain ones without a single murderous thought crossing my mind…
Maybe it was because I was having difficulty imagining this that God placed an object lesson in my path – a neighbor who was an enemy of sort. He was moving slowly down the driveway to fetch his paper, looking slovenly (yes, that is the first murderous thought that crossed my mind – do you see how difficult this is for me?) unshaved, wearing his boxers and a big Notre Dame t-shirt…and I looked away – I figured he didn’t want anyone to see him like this and it was only 6:20 in the morning.
“Come on, God, I said – you know what he did! Don’t I have a right to bear a grudge?” I complained. I’ll tell you what he did and you can decide, though whatever you judge, the Judge of the Universe had his own opinion which He made clear to me…
