“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth.” 1 John 3:11

The rain had stopped and the sun broke through the clouds revealing a glorious valley in the hills above Ensenada Mexico. As part of a team of twelve, we pulled a trailer packed with lumber from the aptly named Home Depot onto a small vacant lot. Yet, it was not the glorious view that caught my eye, but a six year old little girl who clung to her mother’s leg. I’m sure she had been told that her family was receiving a small loft house that day to replace the shanty of stick and tarp they called home. But the sight of the trailer filled with prefabricated walls, floor and ceiling, let alone the crew of volunteers there to erect it, was a bit overwhelming. I’m sure it was hard for this little girl to believe that

A New Home Was Just A Few Hours Away 

Over the next few hours I watched as this little 6 year old was pulled out of her shell by the love of the volunteers. A paintbrush was soon in her hand, along with paint on every stitch of her clothing. Her smile was now from ear to ear and would not fade. By the time the peanut butter sandwiches made an appearance, there was no shy left in her. These volunteers were now family, right down to the massive hug each one received from her as the keys of the new home were handed to her father. As we drove away, I could not help but wonder how different that little 6 year olds life was now going to be. She had witnessed the love of strangers coming in the name of the Lord to put a roof over her head, and then walk away asking nothing in return. My friends, there is very real Christ centered love power in 1 John 3:11. When you give without expecting anything in return, lives change in an instant, not the least of which will be your own.  

Jesus said, “In everything, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12

Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, actress, and extraordinary poet, famous for her 1969 best selling book “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”. I met her in a hallway between broadcast tapings a few decades ago and I will never forget the encounter. She was carrying on a conversation with others and I needed to slip past her in a tight hallway to prepare the television crew. She felt me try to carefully slip past and turned on a dime to face me. “Young man, you may wait for my conversation to conclude,” she said with a very even, but stern tone. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked her in the eye and said, “Ms. Angelou, you are right. My urgency should not be at your expense. I’m very sorry.” Her eyes instantly changed and a warmth passed over her countenance. “I can’t thank you enough for saying that,” she said, then proceeded to ask me my name, and if there was anything she could do to help me. In the years since then I’ve thought of her famous quote that said,

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you does not always come naturally for us. Sometimes it takes forethought, and deliberation, and sometimes a brief pause in our busy day. I learned that from Maya Angelou that day. A lesson I’ve not forgotten.