Who is my neighbour?

Last weekend, I went to visit one of my friends at her home to pass her a bunion gel-pad.  It's a small thing, but we'd noticed at our last monthly bread distribution that she had really bad bunions and we figured, worth a try, otherwise the bunions would just get worse.  But when I got there, neither she nor her kids were at home - only her husband.  I tried to explain to him how to use the bunion gel-pad, but he suggested that I explain it to my friend directly - he thought she would probably be at a nearby coffeeshop.  So off I went to the coffeeshop.

At the first coffeeshop I bumped into K, a young ITE student who also lived in the same block.  He was buying a late dinner for himself, and we exchanged quick greetings and a pat on the back.  People sometimes think that students who don't study hard, or don't care enough, end up in ITE.  That's not really true, because K is not like that at all - he really cares about doing well, even amidst a challenging family and living environment.  He always has something to share about what he's learned in school when I meet him. Just last time, he explained how school project work teaches him about the importance of working with and asking for help from his peers, so that in future, he can learn alongside colleagues and teammates, instead of having to ask his supervisor about everything.

Since my friend wasn't at the first coffeeshop, I went on to the next coffeeshop, waving goodbye to K.  And yay, I found her there with her daughter and son.  They are quite grown up now - but I remember when I first met them, they were both little kids!  I got the bunion gel-pad out and showed my friend how to wear it in between her toes.  I then asked her daughter to help encourage her mother to persist even if it was initially a little uncomfortable, though I warned her that if it was painful, she should stop of course.  The daughter then started telling me some of her problems at work, and how her supervisor kept asking her to pull longer hours at a nearby restaurant.  Some things we can't help directly, but even a listening ear can make a better day.

I had earlier arranged to meet my wife for a late evening jog, so I excused myself and headed off, and said I would check in on how the bunion pad was working the next time.  On the way back, I met the 2 daughters of another friend F, who were heading out to dinner.  I'm glad for F - she goes to our church regularly now, and we've seen how, as a single mum from a foreign country, she's brought up the two girls, worried over their exams, sweated over her job, then found a better one, and just recently, she'd applied to buy her own flat!  So I can just about see how the poverty trap is about to be broken for her family.  Yay!!

A minute or two later, I came across yet another friend S, and her two young daughters, playing in the open area in front of the block.  I sat down with her for a while to chat.  She's been to our Christmas parties a number of times, and one time, she invited us to eat at her relative's restaurant, where she works, and she gave us extra portions - yum!  She looked a little tired, because her working hours are really long - but at least she was taking the opportunity to chill out with the 2 girls, while the youngest was already sleeping upstairs.  I remember that when her marriage hit a serious roadblock recently, my wife was there to help her out, and thank God, things seem to be stabilising now.

As I headed off to the beach to meet my wife, I suddenly had the profound realisation that - in the short 30 minutes I had been walking around the estate, I had met so many friends and their families.  And I actually knew them - their issues and challenges and worries.  In fact, I knew them far far better than my own neighbours!  And I had many other friends, just from the few floors I cover in this block.  If I covered more floors and got to know more of them, just imagine how many more friends I would have met on my walk!  And how much better I would understand their hopes and concerns!

I felt a deep sense of belonging, and even responsibility for my friends.  And for the first time, I really felt what it meant to be a shepherd, and what Jesus must feel towards me, and my family and friends, as the ultimate Good Shepherd.  Thank You Jesus - You are my Shepherd; You cared for me when I was lost; now teach me how to be more like You, to look after Your sheep.

As I re-read what I've written, I feel I need to make clear, not only to the reader, but to myself - I write all this not to pat myself on the back.  On the contrary - I now realise how much more work I have left undone here, and how many years I've used up just to get to this little starting point!  It is an amazing thing to be part of a bigger plan and purpose.  If anyone wants to join in our work at the rental blocks, let me know!

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger's voice.  John 10:2-5

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"  He said, "Lord, you know all thing; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

John 21:15-17