Love for Others, Heart in Hand
Finding courage to reach out
by Leigh McLeroy
The truest thing I know about loving my neighbor I learned from watching a tough cowboy approach a skittish horse. Moving inside a circle pen at a south Texas ranch, this wrangler drew closer and closer to a rigid mare whose wide eyes gave away her fear. He didn’t hurry. He never hid his intent. He just watched carefully for cues that his overture might be received — and when he recognized them, he advanced. In less time that I imagined possible, he stood face to face with the mare and rested his hand gently between her eyes. Then he gave up his secret: “Put your heart in your hand when you touch your horse,” he said.
Put your heart in your hand.
I knew that the mare’s owner had brought her to the cowboy because she resisted being bridled, saddled, and ridden. But at that moment in the ring, riding didn’t seem to be the goal. It was all about receptivity. About offering a deliberate touch. About establishing a well-won, heart-in-hand connection of trust.
Jesus came to the world with His heart in His hand. Those he encountered witnessed no pretense in Him and understood (some sooner, some later) that His unhidden agenda was love. He consistently demonstrated mercy by meeting personal needs, and He spoke truth to power by calling the religious establishment of His day on their hypocrisy. But He did all things with extraordinary love. He pulled no punches with people whose personal lives were a mess, offering Himself as the solution-as the living water to satisfy their thirst.
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We become better neighbors when we demonstrate a genuine
interest in others, with no agenda or demands.
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Jesus clearly saw the situation of each person He met yet was never repelled. He brought truth and loving kindness to each exchange, without sacrificing one for the other.
When we demonstrate a genuine interest in others as Jesus did, with no hidden agenda or demands, we become better neighbors — the kind willing to cross cultural barriers, invite honest dialogue, listen with understanding, and offer unflinching truth with love. All we need is the courage to reach out, heart in hand, to touch our corner of the world.