First Baptist Church of Herndon

Over and over again!

Linda Soller | Feb 13, 2017

Weatherman Phil didn’t want to be in Punxsutawney, PA covering Groundhog’s Day. In the 1993 movie, Bill Murray approached the assignment and the town as beneath him, and frankly a waste of his precious time. He was “the talent” as he proudly told co-star Andie MacDowell.  Murray’s character finds himself waking again and again in the same small community, to the same day, Groundhog’s Day. Gradually he realizes that he can tweak what he does and make the most of his time. I won’t tell you the entire plot, but let’s just say with enough “do-overs” he finally gets it right. I love this movie. I watch it again and again! Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Love story portion aside, what I find fascinating is to watch the character deal with the people in the town. Coming from a place of disdain and obvious irritation he evolves. As he enters the daily workings of the town and its people he sees things differently. He sees opportunities where he grows as an individual and where he can help others. He learns how his attitude toward them can generate different responses from them. The chain of events changes the man.

In the Bible we are told to love one another. I think many of us take the easy way out and apply this instruction to the smallest group possible, our family, close friends, our own church congregation, and so on. My fear is that we seldom apply it to community. I know my area of impact is not particularly large. How often do we read something in the news and feel empathy, without feeling compelled to act? I know I do, over and over again.

Sometimes we feel helpless, and sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the needs of our community. Sometimes we may even feel their problems are not ours. But if we call ourselves Christians, can we truly ignore the needs of others? Each one of us won’t change the world single handedly, that’s the simple truth. But a bigger truth lies in the power of individuals working together to help others. We see it after natural disasters, and manmade disasters. People helping people, may not fix a problem entirely or even prevent it from reoccurring, but the result is always a connection. Weatherman Phil learned how strong the connection can be when you act on the need of others, when you are kind, and when you love one another.

When given a chance to love one another, I encourage you to do so, over and over again!

Celebrate community love!     : o)  Linda

Don’t believe me? Open your Bible and read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.