Becoming a Better Neighbor

Genesis 50:20 (NRSVue) - Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Here, Joseph is a powerful man, second only to Pharoah in terms of leadership.

Reunited with his brothers who sold him into slavery, Joseph forgives them.

Joseph reminds his brothers that God used their treachery for good.

In Luke 6, Jesus teaches His followers that they are to love their enemies.

His lesson is simple.

Luke 6:28 (NRSVue) - bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.

This is one step in what it means to love your neighbor.

His lessons are in opposition to what the world teaches us.

We need to stop “looking out for number one.”

As we do, God helps us become a better neighbor.

And when we are wronged by our neighbor, God can help us to forgive.

God can even take the wrong we experienced and use it for good.

On our own, forgiveness is quite difficult.

But God can help us let go of our desires for spite and revenge.

In doing so, we let go of the teachings of the world.

Instead, we follow the teaching of Jesus and become a better neighbor.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, October 25, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, November 1, 2024

Go to the Source

Isaiah 49:10 (NKJV) - They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them.

Isaiah delivers a message from God.

God promises provision.

God even promises a time when he will provide a source of water.

And with that provision, God will make certain that none are thirsty again,

In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus encounters a woman at a well.

Even though she is Samarian, Jesus speaks at length with her.

The woman tells Jesus she comes to the well every day to draw water and carry it home.

Jesus then tells her of the living water and how those who drink of it will never thirst again.

This evokes quite a reaction from the woman.

John 4:15 (NRSVue) - The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

It is not difficult to connect the dots and see the relationship between these two passages.

God the Father created us and provides for us.

He provided the Son, by Whom we are saved.

God also provided us with the Holy Spirit who works to improve us day by day.

Christ, the living water, is available to all.

Those who have partaken of this water thirst no more.

Their obligation is to bring others to the source.

And it does not matter how different the two people are.

Jesus demonstrated this for us at the well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, October 11, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, October 18, 2024