Episode 73 - I will do as I would like done to me

From the simplest gesture to "breaking thru a roof" , I will do for others as I would like done for me for the blessings and mercy in return are immeasurable 

Transcript

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This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Hello and welcome to Shine. And we have been talking about loving your neighbor as you love yourself, right? So we've talked a little bit about the Good Samaritan. Um, just before this, we talked about who is your neighbor, but let's get to kind of the heart of the matter, right? How do you love someone? How do you treat someone in the way that you would want to be treated? So that that's the question. How is it that you would like to be treated, not only just through your ordinary day, whether it's by your family, whether it's at work, or by your actual neighbors in your neighborhood? Um, how do you want to be treated in those times of need, in those times of desperation? What is it that you feel would make you feel loved? And as we go through that, I know what I have done for myself is I think, you know, just on a simpler note, what would make my day? And you know what would make my day is if someone bought me a cup of coffee. So you know what I do sometimes? I pay it forward. I love Grabajava, and when I get those little cards where you buy ten and you get one free, I don't use it for myself, y'all. I think to myself, you know what? I'm gonna give it to the next person because that's what I would want. And sometimes it comes back around and I get a free cup of coffee. I love it when someone sees me and notices me and says, Hey, I love your t-shirt today, or you look like you're having a great day. What is something that you're looking forward to? Someone who will just initiate those small, wonderful conversations that bring out the joy of your day. So, you know what I do? Because I like that, that's what I do when I'm, you know, over in the grocery store or walking through the clinic or walking through the hospital. I really try to figure out those small things that I know bring me joy, that bring me a sense of glad I woke up that day or glad I chose this way to walk, those types of interactions. And so I try to put those out into the world hoping that I get those back. And in my times of yes, desperation, in my times of broken spirit and brokenheartedness, we all get those. I am no stranger to those as well, as many of you know, where I'm like, oh Lord, I just don't think I can take another gut punch. And it's in those moments that I know I want my loved ones to gather around me to support me, to love me, to hug me. That's when I need my sisters in Christ that will send me those words of encouragement. Uh, they will send me scripture, they will send me songs, they will pray for me and those that I worry about. And so that's what I do when I see those around me that might be in desperation, might be struggling, is when I say, hey, I'm praying for you today. I know you have this upcoming procedure, or you are worried about your child, or or whatever is kind of happening in their lives where they feel just so brokenhearted, because I know how much that means to me when someone does that. And so when we really think about loving our neighbor as we love ourselves, it's not just loving ourselves, right? It's what is it that we need, what is it that we desire spiritually, what is it that our souls need, not even in those smaller moments, but even in those really big traumatic days where we are just broken spirited, brokenhearted, we are afflicted with illness, or we are mourning. What is it in those moments that I know that I need or that I want? That maybe I'm not even in them right now. But if I were, this is what I would like someone to do for me. That's what we must do for each other. I think too often we get up nowadays in society of yes, you need boundaries, and yes, you know, I get we can't completely like drain each other, but there comes a time where we have to understand that we are on this earth for each other, and we have to understand that we need to be here for each other in a way that we want others to be there for us, and I know I hear it, where people will say, Well, I'm not doing that for her, she didn't call me when I needed it, right? Or how often do we say, Well, they didn't invite me to that party, so I'm not going to invite them? Or, you know, I'm really upset at this person, at the way that I was treated, so I'm gonna treat them in the same way. And and that is not what those of us in Christ are to do. We have to understand that we are not here to reflect the world, we are here to deflect the ways of the world. And we are to deflect with our light, we are here to shine the light that has been shined upon us through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. And so even when it may be that ego or that human nature to say, I'm not gonna do for them because they would not do for me, we have to overcome that, and we have to think with our spiritual hearts, our spiritual minds, and say to ourselves, if I were in that space or place, what would I want to be done for me? And you know what? I'm gonna do it for you, even though you may not have the capacity to do it for me. Because I feel like the more we are able to do that for each other and show who we are through the spirit, we are gonna bring more to him. We are going to be those lamps upon the lampstand that are bringing others towards the light, the light of our Savior. So as you go through your week, I want you to think about those small things that you like that maybe somebody does for you, and I want you to be really proactive and try to put that out into the world and do that for others and see the blessings that you are able to receive. In the same way that when you know that you have been gut-punched, broken-spirited, brokenhearted, and what do you need in those times? If you see someone, if you know someone that might be in that place, I pray that you will reach out and do for them as you would want to be done in those moments. Because if we are truly our neighbors in Christ, that is the light that we have within us that we are to show out to the world. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.