WEEK TWO: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

What do you do when you encounter someone who is different or sees things differently than you do?

Recently my wife and I decided to host a community picnic for the neighbors who live close to us. We have lived in that community for 31 years and we have seen neighbors come and go. We thought it would be a good thing if we could bring the neighborhood together for a meal. So we gave invitations out to those who lived closest to us. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, sixteen of our neighbors (ranging in age from 3 years old to close to 80) showed up at our house. It was amazing to watch as people, who lived so close to each other but had never met, began to talk and get to know each other. By the time it was over, we were sharing phone numbers and email addresses so that we could begin looking out for each other and helping each other instead of just watching from across the road or over the fence.

Nehemiah faced opposition to rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, and it didn’t come from a foreign power or government. It came from people who were already living in the area. It came from people who probably should have been on board with seeing the area come back to life, but who instead felt threatened by what they supposed would happen. Immediately they began to try and discourage the workers, and they even got to the point of threatening them, trying to create disunity that would stop the work that was happening.

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus is being questioned by an expert in religious law who most likely was trying to trip Jesus up or to catch him in saying something that would dissuade people from following him. He asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers him with a question about the law. The man’s reply is basically that we need to love God with our entire being and love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus commends him for the answer… but the man doesn’t stop there. He then asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the parable we know as the Good Samaritan, using the outsider and outcast in the story as the one who demonstrates true neighborly love.

How different would your community be if we all started seeing those around us as neighbors instead of nuisances? The people who came to our picnic were vastly different in age, hobbies, ideologies, and stages of life, but there was something that bound us together: community.  I am sure that there were some that received the invitation who thought it was a good idea but had other things to do. I am sure there were some that received it and didn’t think it was a good idea or just didn’t want to be a part of the gathering. But we have personally already seen the benefits of “loving our neighbors” come back to bless us. Your step may not be a community picnic. Yours may not be helping someone along the side of the road. But each of us can do something! And what if that something is the one thing that changes and unifies your community? Let’s commit to becoming Jesus followers that love God and love people!