When I worked at camp, there was a kid there that I loved a lot. Sadly, I can't remember much about him, other than he was, in most rights, a "problem child." He was always getting into arguments with other campers, always in trouble with his counselors. But when I came around, he was always on his best behaviour. Well, the best you'll get from an 11 year old. We played and joked around, and I encouraged him to participate (fairly) in the activities they were doing. But I also rebuked him when he needed it, taking care not to yell and scream at him, but to use reasoning and speak to him with respect. And it seemed to work well.
One night I was on my way to visit a friend who was on duty to sit with his cabin. When I walked by this kid's cabin, he was sitting outside on the porch, sulking. I walked up and sat with him while his counselor went back inside to deal with the rest of the cabin. I asked him what he did to be sent out here and he told me. And I asked him if he knew that he should have been sent outside. We talked a bit more, and then he looked at me and asked "why do you care so much?" It was a sincere question. And one I didn't know the answer to. I just knew that I had a lot of love for that kid, and he needed to be shown a lot of love.
As I've grown, that quality in me seems to have all but disappeared. Now I can't be bothered to go out of my way to even be nice to people, let alone go out of my way to show them that someone cares, even though it may seem the rest of the world has given up on them. And perhaps not everyone is like my camper, they don't have the same situation or the same rebellious nature that needs to be diffused. But they still need that extra bit of attention. Yet now I become exasperated and write them off as hopeless. When did I become so uncaring and bitter? I suppose this is not the time to get into some Freudian psychoanalysis of myself, as it is not important. What is important is that I get back to loving others.
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." - John 13:34
This story is also a good lesson in the love God has for us. We are sinners, we are troubled. We are people about whom God could just raise his hands and say "it's hopeless!" Yet, even though the world may have given up on us, God is always there, always loving us, always showing He cares. It's something we'll never understand. But with God, we can always look up when we've gotten ourselves into a mess, and He's there. And we will constantly wonder "why do You care so much?"
