Today I left my keys hanging in the door of my car for the better part of five hours as it waited for me just across the street from the Circle K on Belmont Boulevard. Don't worry, none of the hundreds of people training for the marathon today felt the need to quit when they saw my "free" ride sitting there on the side of the road. Needless to say, after class my car was right where I had left it, and so were my keys.
I hate to admit this, but today is actually the second time I have done that careless act this month (and in nearly the same exact place). While I don not believe there to be many people looking for a free car, or a sample of whatever may be inside, to be walking down Belmont Boulevard... I find it comforting to know that someone would be willing to take the time to remove my keys from the door, use an old assignment of theirs from some audio engineering class to wrap around my keys, and then leave them "hidden" for me under my windshield wipers with a nice little note. Incredible.
Yet, I don't feel like this story would have had the same warm and fuzzy ending had I been this careless back in Los Angeles. But I still believe that people are inherently good, and today was just a simple reminder of that awesome truth. You can say we have been born into sin, or remind me that we have a sin nature about us, but we are still created in God's image. Which I believe is partly reflected in all the goodness we see in the world, such as my audio engineer friend from today.
But more important than arguing the topic of whether people are inherently good or bad, serving others out of kindness helps remind others of the God image we were created in. Some call it paying it forward, others call it love, I think it is just how God intended us to live when he created us in His image.
So here is to the little things in life, specifically those that remind us of God's great goodness we were created in.
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C.S. Lewis
