• Pastor Gerrit Mes of the AFM Pentecostal Fellowship writes:
My wife comes from a closely knit small town in Norway. Part of Europe but Norwegians are a bit unique. On her first trip to England, she was shocked at English people.
She tells the story of how English people pushed passed her saying, “How are you?” But before she could reply, they were gone. She didn’t understand why they would ask how she was but they were obviously not interested in the reply. It is polite to ask the question.
In our world of limited intimate interaction with others, we have developed a polite but not really caring network of ‘friends’. We prefer Facebook friends to face to face. We are becoming socially awkward.
This isolation grew worse during Covid. People not allowed to get together, not encouraged to spend time together.
Jesus apparently walked most of his 33 years. It was the primary form of movement. Students who study the Bible estimated that Jesus walked almost 35 000 kilometres in his life. Busy but never rushed. He made time to stop and care.
Next time you say, “How are you”, stop and listen to the reply. People are hurting and your care could make a big difference.
PS. ‘I am fine’ is not always the whole picture. Let’s really start to care today.
• Contact Pastor Mes on 087 802 5752.
