I love my backyard. On any given day it is a flurry of activity. It seems Dr Doolittle lived here and no one told the animals he moved away…. I am entertained by the quail mom and dad and their little tiny babies following behind so diligently. I am amazed by the javelinas that let puppy lick their noses through the gate, and the cardinals stark red beauty that contrasts with the desert tans. I love the tiny bunnies that cause my grand daughter to raise her little hand to her face and declare, “oh how cuuuuute!”. But perhaps the most entertaining and charming inhabitants of my backyard are the squirrels. I am awakened on some days, in the early morning hours, with the plink plink of one of them running across the old piano on our back porch.
Throughout the day there is a constant comedy show going on as those squirrels climb the bird-feeder pole to get to the sunflower seeds stored inside, only to slide down fireman style in their attempts. One day we watched a young hawk stalking said squirrel, only to realize after a few attempts that the squirrel was way too big. Once Mr Squirrel realized this, he taunted him with silly tricks. Sometimes at dusk a great majestic owl perches in the tree overlooking our yard, and in the night we hear “hoo hoo, hoo, hoo”, lulling us to sleep.
Yet the most amazing thing to see, is all these creatures of God, live in harmony together. They share their food, their water and mingle together rubbing feather and fur. Our desert tortoise even shares his lettuce with Mr Squirrel, the two of them munching in perfect peace.
As I watch, coffee in hand from my kitchen table, I think, “why is it so hard for people to live in such harmony?” The commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself,” is often a difficult one. I don’t know if you ever had a difficult neighbor, but I think there is most likely one on every street. There is the nosy neighbor who watches everything and reports to everyone, there is the self assigned undercover HOA police one, who reports every tiny infraction, and there is the teenage boy who just got a drum set and invites his new garage band over at 1 am to practice! Eww it is soooo hard to love those neighbors!
But if I am really honest, one of the hardest things about loving your neighbor as yourself, is that if I truly loved them as I love myself, most days I wouldn’t be doing them any favors. I can be pretty hard on myself. It seems clear to me that the second commandment is two part. First, love yourself. Second, love your neighbor. Love your neighbor is the second commandment, and Jesus says it is like the first commandment which is to love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. If we keep those two commandments in the proper order we can fulfill both, because a heart filled with love for God naturally overflows.
So, how do we learn to love ourselves? It’s actually pretty easy, but we have to develop a clear understanding of who God says we are. It is far from the worlds view of self worth which is measured by financial wealth, material possessions, social standing and beauty. Our true worth is found in the relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are a child of a God who delights in us and formed us in His very image, and loved us so much He had his own son give his life for us.
Once we have a clear understanding of who we are and our worth, we can then share that love with others. Having been forgiven ourselves, we can then forgive others around us. Knowing that God’s grace has been poured down upon us, allows us the ability to give grace to our neighbors.
When we understand that God created us all in his image, we get a better understanding of what God is trying to tell us in this commandment. If God is love, and we were created of Him, then we are called to love. As a parent we tell our squabbling children to be nice to their brother or sister. Well, God as our Father, is telling us to be nice to our brothers and sisters. When we do this, we are reflecting God’s character to them.
The animals in my back yard seem to know this. They have come to trust that we will provide for them seed and water, day after day. We will care for them and provide for them. We have proven to be faithful in tending to their needs. They don’t fight among themselves because there will be manna again tomorrow. Isn’t that what our Heavenly Father does for us? He showers us with grace. He forgives us. He provides for us, and He is faithful to us, day after day. When I truly feel secure in Christ, my heart is full and I have no need to squabble and fight with my fellow neighbor to keep my rank or justify my position.
When I look out my back door and see the newcomers to the block, the tiny chipmunks welcomed into the group, it makes me smile. God is teaching me a lesson. We can all get along in this world and live in harmony with each other. All we have to do is welcome our neighbors accepting their differences, and love them and see them through the eyes of our Heavenly Father.