First I'd like to say that the thoughts and prayers of everyone at Strang and Ministry Today are with Jerry Falwell's family. We were in a meeting with Jack Hayford and Steve Strang yesterday when we found out, and we had a time of prayer for them.

Obviously the Internet is buzzing about this news, and the variety of reactions to Falwell's death is not surprising considering his strong opinions on many divisive issues. A quick blog search will--sadly--yield as many "we're glad he's gone" posts as respectful ones. But, as Todd Rhoades pointed out this morning, it's amazing how many people who sharply disagreed with Falwell liked him personally. Rhoades' post includes a list of reactions from famous people to the news, and the comments from Larry Flynt, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton all talk about how they had completely opposite opinions, but how they respected him as a person. Flynt (the publisher of Hustler) even goes so far as to call him a "good friend," which is shocking considering their messy Supreme Court battle.

It's interesting to see how personal contact influences us. When we only view or interact from a distance, such as over the Internet, it's much more tempting to associate people directly with their opinions and forget there's a person there. I'm positive that 100 percent of the bloggers out there stomping on Falwell's grave would have a much more respectful response if they could have had a conversation with him. It's strange that in a society with much more communication, we often get less human interaction.

It's much easier to love up close than from a distance. Whether we're interacting with friends or enemies, we can't underestimate the value of human contact and the role it plays in Christ's call to love our neighbors.

INTERACT: Share your thoughts on this or Jerry Falwell's life by commenting below.