In church this morning, a woman told this story. To me it illustrates loving one’s neighbor as oneself. It illustrates the very best in human nature.
On Good Friday last year, their home in Tennessee, along with many others, was badly damaged by a tornado. Surveying the damage, they estimated that it would take months to clear away the debris. Every tree in their yard had been destroyed.
Imagine their surprise on Sunday morning when they looked into their yard and found it filled with neighbors and strangers who had come to help clean up. This family had been on the giving end of charity before, but never on the receiving end. It was very humbling.
The wife approached one of the women, “I can’t believe you are all here on Easter Sunday.” The volunteer replied, “If we can’t help one another on Easter, when can we?”
In two hours the debris had been cleaned up and hauled away. The family was in awe, and deeply grateful.
That volunteer, it seems to me, had a sense of church that went way beyond a physical building. She was living her sense of church.
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