Missionary-author finds spiritual principles in circumstances both ordinary and exotic
South Carolinian Gary Stone publishes book of meditations
By Butch Blume
butch@baptistcourier.com
Published September 30, 2008
In “What If Everyone Lived Next Door to Jesus?” (2008, Hannibal Books, Texas), Stone, an International Mission Board missionary who has served for 23 years with his wife, Lily, in Ecuador, Australia and Guatemala, serves up stories both humorous and poignant to illustrate a Christianity that aims to get back to the basics: loving others and sharing God’s good news.
In the title chapter, “Living Next Door to Jesus,” Stone tells of a Guatemalan missionary who became upset with a fellow missionary, Don, and went to his house to “give him a piece of my mind!” After the encounter, during which Don apologized and humbly asked to be forgiven, the aggrieved man was asked if he felt better. “No,” he replied, although he’d clearly lost some of his steam. “Living next door to Don is just like living next door to Jesus!”
Stone uses the illustration to ponder what life would be like for those around us if we actually lived like Jesus. “Could it be that those who are observing us realize before we do that we are much too long on sermons and far too short on love?” the author asks. “I can’t help but wonder if maybe we have put our quest for genuine love on the back burner … behind keeping the laws and being on time for all our meetings at church.
