Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38 NKJV
Guiding Eyes sends out a field rep about every twelve to eighteen months to check on their guide dog teams. My first visit occurred in 2018, during a snow storm, and I was spared the task of walking with the rep by our side. Now, it was a blazing hot afternoon. Neither Iva nor I handle heat well.
I had thoroughly cleaned the house, and Iva was nicely groomed, but my thoughts were on our walk. Would he correct my tension on the harness or tell me I was following too far behind? Had we settled into a bad habit that would be reprimanded?
Relief washed over me when he cut our walk short due to the heat. The field rep was pleased with our work.
This made me think. What if Jesus paid us a home visit? Would we spruce up the house, carefully setting out Bibles? Would we change our TV channels? Would we stock the fridge with the finest foods?
But what would Jesus comment on as He walked with us? Perhaps, He would ask why I didn’t speak to the stranger we passed on the sidewalk, or even offer them a smile. Would He think I was full of questions for Him, or would I nervously clam up?
The truth is Jesus does pay us a home visit every day. We complacently forget He is constantly aware of our every act, every attitude, and every thought. I wonder how I would act differently if I considered my every move under the watchful eye of Jesus. Of course, in these fleshly bodies, we will never live up to perfection. Only Jesus walked a faultless life, but could we alter our behaviors in some manner to walk more like Jesus did?
Offer a kind word. Refuse to listen to gossip. Bite our tongues and be kind to the rude people we encounter.
The longer I consider the small things that might make a difference in someone’s life, the more I think of how much I can do differently.
We don’t have to go out of our way to offer a friendly greeting. We don’t have to preach on a street corner, just encourage a discouraged soul. We don’t have to go to the other side of town to make a difference, just down the street.
How would you handle your typical day differently if Jesus paid you a home visit? What can we commit to change to walk more like Christ?
Originally posted on September 12, 2020 @ 4:35 pm