I’m so excited to go on a walk.

It’s so simple right? Before you stop reading, this will be more than the classic “I am about to get out of quarantine, and I really learned to appreciate the small things.” I did, and its true but not the full and complete painting of this story, it’s just one brushstroke. I’m excited to walk because God changed how I am going to walk. He changed how I am going to walk with people and how I’m going to love them. Which is the second portion of the greatest commandment. So, I am no longer running, I’m walking now.

If someone was running at you, you are most likely to first think they are crazy and then maybe you would get scared of them getting closer, and then hopefully you would move, or you might get run over if you are too slow. I personally might fall to the ground out of fear. However, if someone came walking up to you, then that’s normal. Bear with me. I used to run at people a lot. Young Sav 5 years ago only ever wanted to run at people, and I was so confused in why they ran away. I learned how to walk towards people a couple years later and now I’m relearning my pace. Fast walks towards someone can still be intimidating.

So, I’m walking slow. Trying to walk like Jesus and with Jesus. No running or fast walking at people. I’m going to walk naturally and see them, talk to them, hear them, and love them. I will encounter strangers I cannot understand with different languages, concepts, gods, practices, families, and culture. I am in no rush. I want to see them, talk to them, hear them, and love them.

I have been raised in Western culture where the foundation is the “American Dream”.

We work and hurry to have purpose and success and we have missed the people in the competition of “making it”.

Matthew 25:31-40,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

When we love people, we are loving God. Hear that. Jesus said to the people that when they took care of the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, sick, and prisoned, that they took care of him! JESUS. God in human form! How beautiful. If we met Jesus and knew it was him of course we would take him in!!! We would serve him, feed him, listen to him. Yet he said we do that for him when we do it for other people here and now. W I L D.

So maybe walk? Run after God but walk towards his people with peace. Make time to not go to the next thing on your schedule. Listen to them, let them be heard and let them be seen. Speak life into them and take care of them and know when you do that for them, you are doing it for God.