By Randy Garrison

This morning I was thinking about what I would like to share this week. Most weeks I have a topic by Sunday afternoon or early Monday morning. This morning I seem to be drawing a blank, but as most weeks, when I stop worrying about the words I need to be putting down, a thought or idea comes to me.

Yesterday at church I was speaking to one of my favorite folks, and we discussed how blessed we are and how we really do not have anything to complain about. I was thinking later about how good this person always makes me feel after we talk and how the light and love of Christ is so apparent in their life.

Each day we wake up is a true gift from God. He has given us another day to make a difference in His world. 

We have the ability to make good changes, to make someone’s day brighter and to lend a helping hand to someone in need. We also have the ability to grow closer to being the person He wants us to be.

Some days we might wonder how we can make a difference in someone’s life. Perhaps the simple things can make a difference – much more than we might think. It might not be something huge, as we might think is expected of us. 

Sometimes simply following the Golden Rule makes a difference to others: “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” —Luke 6:32 (NLT)

While this might seem simple, it is not always as easy as we think. Let someone pull out in front of you, wait too long when the light turns green or just make mistakes in their driving; I know I am very impatient in traffic and tend to forget what I claim to be in situations like these. 

Or what about that person who has a shopping cart of groceries and gets in the 10 items or less lane in front of you? 

We tend to think the big issues are what we ought to be concerned with – we do not steal, intentionally harm someone physically, try to take their spouse or break any of the 10 commandments – but those are the easy ones.

When we take into consideration our everyday interaction with folks, this is when the asphalt meets the highway. 

As I mentioned earlier: traffic, grocery lines and things like that – that is where we run into trouble. There is a verse in the Bible for which I cannot give the text, but to paraphrase: Share the gospel; if necessary, use words. Our actions on a daily basis, and how we react to circumstances, will reveal who we truly are and if we truly are following the Golden Rule. 

How about letting the person turn in front of you, take the parking spot you really wanted, share a smile when you can tell someone is having a hard day, help them unload the full shopping cart in the 10-item line, wish them a good day and let His love show in your actions?

No words are necessary, and your actions will speak much louder than any words. 

Lord, help me be the person you want me to be today and every day – to love my neighbor.