On Sunday Carl gave us an assignment to dig into 1John 4. I’ve been reading and praying through it, and this verse struck me: “If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.” 1John 4:20-21 I’ve been thinking about Gene Thomas these past few weeks since his passing. I met Gene and his wife Gerri at Covenant Presbyterian Church when we moved to Colorado. I was lucky enough to hear Gene preach a few times, and his sermons included some amazing examples from his life, and his walk with the Lord. Carl got me thinking about this again when he focused on the two greatest commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself. This was the stuff of Gene’s sermons and perhaps more importantly, the stuff he lived. He talked about how he looked for opportunities to get jobs as a movie extra. You see, he discovered that as an extra, you have lots of time to kill, and he loved to get into conversations with other people on the set, looking for the chance to share the gospel message. Another way he loved was through transportation. He always kept a free car. In their neighborhood near the hill, it was widely known that if you needed transportation, Gene had a loaner ready to go. Gene and Gerri kept a trunk by their front door, filled with clean clothes that were freely given to anyone who needed something presentable to go to a job interview or the like. Gene lived a life of loving the Lord with all his passion, all his creativity and all his heart. And loving his neighbor? There were just no limits to what he’d do if you were in need. Now, I feel blessed to have this great example. But I confess, I fall so short of really loving my neighbor the way Jesus loves me. I’ve got one neighbor, in particular, that I wouldn’t hesitate to say is spiritually lost. She has a way of getting under my skin. I wonder if maybe some of you have had a similar experience? She’s so quick to tell me her new belief of the week, and just as quick to dismiss anything I might say in response. Anyway, I used to pray for her, but I’d not thought about her in my prayers for quite awhile. Then last Friday I saw her at the Louisville Street Faire, and I admit, I hoped she didn’t see me. But, of course that’s not what God had planned. She came over and sat and talked. She said her daughter, a new high school freshman, was looking for a church group, and she wondered if she could come to First Pres. She went on to say that if her daughter wants to come to church, she will come to church too. So, I guess my point is, I’m more convicted than ever to make sure I really do love my neighbor. Just because I’d given up my prayers for her, God never forgot her. Of course this story is still being written in my neighbor’s life, and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do. For my part, I’m going to resume my prayers, and remember that I am called to love my neighbors.