I think I’ll probably jump all over with these stories, from small individual acts, to larger more collective ones. This story I came across last year when some friends pointed me to it. It’s a neat story because Julio Diaz seems to be taking a page right out of Jesus’ playbook (“if someone takes your coat…”). Here’s the story:

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

“He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, “like what’s going on here?” Diaz says. “He asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

Diaz replied: “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me … hey, you’re more than welcome.  (read the rest of the story here)

I think we don’t realize that criminals are people too, often hurting people. I want to always keep that in my mind and experience every encounter as a chance to love others, like Julio Diaz chose to do.

Do you know of any other stories like this?