When loving my neighbor meant returning his horse from my front lawn

By Dean Collins

You might ignore many things, but some things are difficult not to notice. And you might be surprised what things God says not to ignore. One story may show what I mean.

It was the middle of the night, and my oldest daughter, a teenager at the time, woke me up distressed and confused. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if God may have answered her prayers. We lived in Fayette County Georgia at the time on about six acres that were mostly woods.

“Dad, I think there is a horse outside my window,” she said. I doubted this, but she seemed concerned and maybe even hopeful. I looked out from her bedroom window, and sure enough, there was a horse eating the grass in the front yard. Did I mention we lived in the middle of the woods?! I went outside and confirmed that neither my daughter nor I were dreaming. The horse kept eating grass.

“What are we going to do?” asked my daughter.

“I don’t really know,” I said, “but if the horse is there in the morning, we will figure it out.” At 7 a.m., the horse was still there. We phoned some neighbors to see if they were missing a horse. Every response was negative. I wasn’t sure whether to call animal control or take a picture of the horse and post it on a telephone pole. Eventually, we found a nearby neighbor who checked their pasture and found both a broken fence and a missing horse. It wasn’t long until they retrieved their possession. (But they left the animal’s gift to us, several piles of fertilizer decorating my front yard!)

Instruction from Moses and Paul

As I was reading Deuteronomy this morning I discovered that Moses actually left some instructions for these kinds of situations. He didn't mention horses specifically, but I think the principle might apply. The chosen of God were instructed that if they saw their brother’s ox, sheep, or donkey going astray, they must not ignore them. They were to find the owner and return the missing livestock. In my case, I couldn’t ignore the horse and I was eager to find its owner rather than keep this treasure my daughter had discovered.

Recently I pointed out that we have an obligation to care for and love the people God puts in our paths. Paul said it this way: “Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law.” Part of fulfilling the royal law as James would later call it means that we not only pay attention and help a person out but that we also don’t ignore our neighbor’s livestock. Maybe today we might include our neighbor’s pets. We don’t need to open an animal shelter, but caring enough to help out and not ignore does seem to be a part of the goodwill we offer others.

Remembering the basics

My point is not specifically that we are to care for animals but rather that if God wants us to care for the animals of others how much more he wants us to help brothers, sisters, and even strangers in their time of need. Moses gave a lot of specifics for the Israelites. We know they had a hard time remembering some of the basics. Paul and Jesus knew we’re not much different.

In Matthew 25 we find clear and simple examples from Jesus of who and how we are to love others. You remember the “least of these” passages as well as I do. Paul also gave examples as he finished writing the letter of Romans. He would later talk about love in 1 Corinthians 13.

You probably won’t encounter a wandering donkey, ox, or lost sheep today. And I doubt there will be a horse in your front yard when you get home, either. But we both ought to pay more attention to the people God puts in our paths today. We probably will see ways we can fulfill our obligation to love another with the people right in front of us. It might be some simple gesture, or God might stir us to do more. But what is clear from Scripture is that we must not ignore the people God puts around us in our daily journey.

Your time with God’s Word
Deuteronomy‬ ‭22:1-4 ESV; Romans‬ ‭13:8-10‬ ‭ASV‬‬

Photo by Annie Spratt at Unsplash

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