THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Our neighbor, who lives across the street from where we live in Malang, was not very neighborly—for a good reason. You see, when our daughter lived in Malang for a year, she had a pet—a big German shepherd. After she left, Milo—the name of the dog—stayed behind and was cared for by the seminary students who lived in the house. The problem with Milo was, he was loud.

One afternoon—apparently not one of his good days—Milo barked incessantly. So, this neighbor tried to climb over our fence with an iron tool ready to bludgeon Milo. Had he not stopped in time by the security, he might have succeeded. I didn’t blame him for getting so worked up; he’s just human; and humans sometimes lose control.

Ever since he moved in a few years ago, I tried to reach out to him. Whenever I saw him, I always said hello to him. He responded but he was never friendly. Over a year ago I saw a lot of people come to his house and before long I began to hear them singing—Christian songs. Since then I noticed changes in him; he seemed to be more relaxed. A few Sundays ago, I happened to see him standing in front of his house, so I approached him and said hello. When I asked what he’s doing, he told me he’s getting ready to go to church.

What delighted me the most was not his answer but rather how he answered—with smile on his face! He is not the same man; he has changed for the better. I believe something happened that evening when I saw people come to his house and heard them sing praises. God visited him, and he opened the door and let Him come in. C. S. Lewis says that the greatest miracle ever happened was the birth of Jesus the Son of God to be a man. I’d say the second greatest miracle is the births of we, humans, to be the children of God.

Pastor Paul