Egged and TP-ed

Last week our house got "egged and TP-ed"....I mean that's what the note inside the giant easter egg said.  An egg that was filled with jelly beans and the most priceless commodity in the world right now - toilet paper.  So we had eggs and toilet paper, thus we were "egged and tp-ed".  It was a really cool gesture during a time when we don't get to express our love for one another like we are used to.  We don't get to go to church, shake hands and hug necks.  We don't get to go out to lunch or hang out and have game night or things like that.  So it was really cool to find this surprise outside our door last week, but here's the biggest surprise - as of the time I am writing this blog, we still don't know who did it.  Oh we have suspects - there have been some inquiries, a little investigating, but nothing conclusive yet.  They left it anonymously, and it is that idea - of doing something for someone who doesn't even know it that struck me as I read the story of the Good Samaritan.

I've read this story countless times.  I have taught it, discussed it, preached on it even (I think).  This is one of those that we learn pretty early on, not only because it's a great story, but because we really want kids to learn this one right?  Be kind to other people, help them out, even if you don't know them.  But I was struck with a thought as I read it this time that I am not sure I have ever had before.  Did the Samaritan ever actually meet the man that he stopped to help?  He is beaten up, seemingly unconscious or out of it when the Samaritan comes upon him, and he speaks to the inn keeper as if the man is still that way when he leaves him there, and we don't know what happens when the Samaritan comes back.  Was the man still there?  Had he healed and rested enough to leave already?  Did they ever even meet?

During this time of social distancing there are still plenty of ways to love our neighbors.  In fact, ironically one of the ways we can love our neighbors right now is by staying away from them.  That doesn't mean you don't wave or have a conversation over the fence.  It doesn't mean you can't egg and TP their house....although only how I described it above - you can't afford to really TP someone's house right now.  It means we can call and check on them.  It means we can pray for them. It means a whole lot of things, many of which might go completely unnoticed by the people you are doing it for.  Like the Samaritan you might not even meet the person you helped. But meeting them isn't the point.  Getting the credit and recognition isn't the point.  Loving other people the same way God loves us is the point.  And that is precisely why we can love them - because God loves us, and His supply never runs out, so we can just keep passing it on.

Love you guys - see you soon.