Like A Good Neighbor - 1
But one question I have never heard asked is, Who are the neighbors?
I also learned that the story of Jesus becomes evident whenever we connect with the people who live closest to us. Jesus said, “Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
The practice of neighboring creates incredible opportunities for us as believers to connect our story to the stories of our neighbors and to God’s story.
Together they have written a powerful book that provides practical advice on how to be intentional about living out the Great Commandment.
When Jesus was asked to reduce everything in the Bible into one command he said: Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. What if he meant that we should love our actual neighbors? You know, the people who live right next door.
Start by looking around your own neighborhood. What problems do you see?
But what if we could be part of the solution? And what if the solution is more attainable than we think? What if it all starts with getting to know the invisible neighbors that surround us?
Frie shared candidly with us that, in his opinion, government programs aren’t always the most effective way to address social issues.
“Am I the only one here who is a little bit embarrassed? I mean, here we were asking the mayor how we can best serve the city, and he basically tells us that it would be great if we could just get our people to obey the second half of the Great Commandment.”
You know the Great Commandment, right? Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. It’s a teaching found in Matthew 22:37–40 and repeated in the Bible for the purpose of reminding us how important it is. In Galatians 5:14 the apostle Paul says it most succinctly: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Often it’s easy to take the teachings of Jesus and turn them into clichés.
John 17, an entire chapter that recounts Jesus’s prayer just before he is arrested. First, Jesus prays for himself, then for his disciples. Then he concludes by praying for us.
He prayed that everyone who follows him would be one, that we would be brought to complete unity. Jesus has a burning desire for there to be unity among all believers.
one of the worthiest endeavors we can undertake is to take the Great Commandment seriously and learn to be in relationship with our literal neighbors.
When Jesus was asked to reduce everything important into one command, he gave us a simple and powerful plan that, if acted on, would literally change the world.
I believed then, and I still do today, that Jesus has something good to offer people. And when they follow him, not only do they have eternal security, but the priorities of their lives are also rearranged for the better.
Remember, Jesus talked about a way to be with people that is both effective and powerful, a way to be with them where they are.
Now imagine what happens when we don’t love those who live next door. Odds are good that we will experience the following:
• Isolation. We will live lonely lives. It’s far too easy to leave our house every morning with our head down. We grind it out at work, come back home, and hurry inside. We never get to know the people around us, and they don’t get to know us.
• Fear. We will be wary of our neighbors, and they will be wary of us. Whatever is unknown is scary. So when we don’t know our neighbors and they don’t know us, it’s easy to imagine the worst.
• Misunderstanding. When we don’t know our neighbors, it’s easy to get the wrong idea about one another.
Maybe you’ve heard the story of the good Samaritan. It’s found in Luke 10:25–37.
It is important to note the statement “he wanted to justify himself.” The man wanted to define this word neighbor in such a way that he could not be found blameworthy. If his neighbor was someone he could choose, then he’d be okay. By asking Jesus to define the word neighbor, this man was looking for a loophole.
Who Is My Neighbor?
That’s how neighboring starts in our hearts—we develop flexibility and compassion.
