Walking with Others

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading, titled, Walking With Others, was written by Ann Cetus. Billy, a loving and loyal dog, became an internet star in 2020. His owner, Russell, had broken his ankle and was using crutches to walk. Soon, the dog also began to hobble when walking with his owner. Concerned, Russell took Billy to the vet, who said there was nothing wrong with him. He ran freely when he was by himself.

It turned out that the dog faked a limp when he walked with his owner. That's what you call trying to truly identify with someone's pain. Coming alongside others is forefront in the Apostle Paul's instructions to the church in Rome. He summed up the last five of the Ten Commandments in this way. Love your neighbor as yourself.

We can see the importance of walking with others in verse 8 as well. Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another. Author Jenny Albers advises, When someone is broken, don't try to fix them. You can't. When someone is hurting, don't attempt to take away their pain. You can't. Instead, love them by walking beside them in the hurt.

You can. Because sometimes what people need is simply to know they aren't alone. Because Jesus our Savior walks alongside us through all our hurt and pain, we know what it means to walk with others. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Romans chapter 13 verses 8 through 14. Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command, Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Let's pray. Dear Lord, please open our eyes to the needs of people all around us and as Paul so wisely encouraged, love our neighbor as ourselves. Help us to be loving friends and loving strangers alike. Thank you, Lord. It's in your name we pray. Amen.