A Simple Way

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 30-31

Think of a time when you were the only Christian in the room. What did that feel like? Was it awkward and uncomfortable? Did you think of a way you could share Christ in that situation? It was awkward and uncomfortable as a seventeen year-old girl, named B, sat in a Thai university’s park waiting to share Christ. Her dad is a leader in a Buddhist temple. Though she is Christian she attends the temple with her dad so that she can better understand her Buddhist neighbors. People look down upon her for being Christian and so young, but she believes she needs to use the time she has because she does not know how much time God has given her. It is difficult to be the only Christian in the temple. B has an interest in nail painting, so she decided to use her interest for God’s purpose. She set up a table with her nail polish in the park. For a while people just walked by, but eventually girls began coming to B’s table. They were confused why B would be doing this and at no charge. B said she wanted to make friends and build real relationships. This gave her an opportunity to share Christ’s love with her neighbors. She understands the importance of loving her neighbor, building relationships, and helping them grow. B found something so simple, and used that as a way to reach out to her community. Her story is a good example of the Parable of the Growing Seed found in Mark 4. The feelings of awkwardness and of being uncomfortable slowly faded into feelings of joy and friendship, as she loved the Lord her God with her whole heart, and loved her neighbor as herself.

Prayer
Loving God, help us to be strong in our faith especially in environments where we may be the only Christian. Help us to share our faith with our neighbors, and to love You with our whole hearts. Amen