Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
So, this morning I am teaching on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I thought that the idea of being a neighbor is central to this passage and thought about Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. My childhood memories flooded back to me as I watched an episode. I wanted to be his neighbor, but at the same time my adult cynicism overwhelmed me and I thought how Mr. Rogers’ could be viewed as a creepy neighbor preying on young kids. What a crazy world we live in, where the world’s most lovable neighbor can be viewed in a bad light!
Jogging
So, I started jogging on trails this week with my friend, Justin. He and I got up 3 mornings this week and went to the Los Robles trails. Wednesday morning we actually took a wrong turn and ran way up into the hills. Luckily we made it back. Now, Justin is very used to running trails and held back form me until I told him to go ahead. It was so tough, but I realized how good it was having someone else around, especially ahead of me. As he ran ahead, I felt the overwhelming need to catch up and keep pace with him. It was not easy and there were times where he got up ahead and around the turn in the path, but I kept at it. Having someone ahead kept pushing me to go farther.
I wonder if our spiritual lives should be like that. Having someone further ahead that is keeping a great pace for us to keep our eyes on and strive to chase. Who is in your life that is further ahead on the trail than you?
