Sharon Vander Meer

Psalm 119:34: Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

In our desire to be self-sufficient, we forget that on our own we are alive but lifeless. We have no purpose except to please ourselves. When we seek to understand others, we find ways to help those God puts into our paths. We reach out, and grow inside. We look up, and our horizons expand. We bow our heads in prayer and know we have made a connection, the most important connection of all. When we look to our neighbor and try to understand them we see God’s plan at work in all people everywhere. In Matthew 22:38-40, Jesus said: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.” Who is your neighbor? Who is my neighbor? It may be the person next door or it can be someone a world away. The only way you know how you can help is to ask, and to understand.