Called to the Ones: A 5 Day Devotionalናሙና

Day 3: Minds To Know The Ones

Have you ever been misunderstood? I don’t know about you, but it’s one of the worst feelings.

One thing I’ve learned about being misunderstood is there is always the lack of fully knowing the circumstances and more importantly, the person, by the one who is misunderstanding.

The internet is certainly a hotbed where misunderstanding thrives. Daily, we take in snapshots of people’s lives and thoughts and it’s so easy to misunderstand people when we choose to cling to the little that is presented.

While misunderstanding plays out on the internet, we see it in the day to day of life when we don’t seek to know our neighbors. It’s hard to obey God’s command to love our neighbors when we don’t even know them. We can’t love well those whom we don’t know or seek to know.

Taking the time to know our neighbor requires us to not just get out of our comfort zones but first, be aware of the comfort zones we are in. These comfort zones aren’t always about safety. It can sometimes be the routines of life that keep us trapped-- so much so, that we don’t even know how to step out of it in order to step into someone else’s context.

How many of us have worked with someone for years but never knew much about them? Or how about our own family members?

Stepping out looks like slowing down enough to ask the ones in front of us to share their story with us. We will be surprised by what we learn.

The consequence of not knowing our neighbor is making assumptions about them. And anytime we assume, we make conclusions about people that are not holistic to the totality of who they are, leading us to fear them and not love them the way God instructs us.

The more we make time to know the ones in front of us, the quicker we dismantle the preconceived fears we hold, leading us into cultivating richer relationships.

Prayer: Father, would you give me the mind to know the ones whom I see on my path? I admit that I am often consumed in my world and in my comfort zone so I don’t intentionally seek out knowing people in my vicinity. Push my heart towards my neighbor and give me the desire to know them—their stories and their heart.

In Jesus Name, Amen.