“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” – John 13:34
I know that this verse is so familiar to all of us. I want to share a story that I read which happened in Japan and I hope that this message can bring a new perspective to God’s word. A Japanese man wanted to renovate his house. To do this, he had to break the wall. Usually, Japanese homes have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When he opened the walls, he was surprised that there was a lizard stuck in there, because a nail had been hammered from his feet. This prevented the lizard from moving. The owner felt pity but he was wondering how the lizard survived. He discovered that the nail was embedded on the lizard’s foot for 5 years. It was mind-boggling for the owner. On the next day, he just observed the lizard how it was feeding since it was impaled. Later on, another lizard appeared from nowhere with food in its mouth. This lizard is feeding the impaled lizard for the past 5 years. And it has been doing it untiringly without giving up hope. Imagine what this small creature did. It was not blessed with an intellect like us but the lizard was moved with compassion. Many of us Christians abandoned a friend or a relative or a loved one because of financial reasons and inability to see into the future. But the lizard hopes that one day his friend shall be delivered. It took 5 years for help to arrive. Help came because he did not lose hope. I was also challenged by this story. Lately, I have given up on one brethren because of her predicament. The message is clear to never abandon a fellow brethren. We need to extend compassion and a lot of patience. Do not turn our backs because they are in difficulty. Do not see that we are more intelligent or the best. We may be more blessed today but life is uncertain and things can change tomorrow. We should be relational with the people around us. If the small lizard can show love, compassion, hope, and charity, humans can do it better with our brilliant minds. God created space in our fingers so that we can hold hands. Be there for somebody today.
