Have You Ever Loved a Stranger?

Have you ever loved a stranger? I mean, have you ever walked by someone on the street, a total stranger, and just loved them?

The Gospels tell us that Jesus loved those who came to Him. In Mark 10:21, we are told of one occasion on which Jesus loved someone who came to him. Jesus loved him. It comes across as a complete action. Jesus love for him was complete and it was also active.

The Greek of the passage records that Jesus' love was agape love--the pure, Christian love of God. By Baptism, we become capable of sharing in this love, although our share may be imperfect in this life.

Sometimes I like to sit somewhere, on a parkbench, for instance, and just see those who walk by and love them. I may never know their names or their stories, but I know that they are images of God, His children, and that loving Christ in the stranger is part of what it means to be Christian.

Let us love our neighbors, whoever they are, be they known to us or not. Let us love our strangers.