We have the greatest neighbors in the whole world. All of them are fantastic, they really are. Since we have lived here our neighbors have been friendly and welcoming. We have been loved on since day 1. Our neighbors have brought us fresh eggs, offered us grapes and vegetables from their gardens, helped us with home improvement projects, brought home our wandering dog, and have even let me borrow baby items in the middle of the night. And that’s not even the whole list. Yes, my neighbors are wonderful.
This past week the neighbors behind us blessed us with a nice wooden playset that their kids had outgrown. My heart is simply overwhelmed as I look out the window! It’s sturdy. It took 4 strong guys from church to move it from their yard to ours. I don’t have to run the kids out of the house to play outside right now, they can’t wait to play on it.
I knew since the beginning that God had prepared this house for us, moved us here just in time, and now I’m seeing He even worked it out for us to have the very best neighbors anyone could ever ask for. It makes me wonder if I’m being the neighbor I should be. It’s been a really long time since I lived in town. I never really thought about how neighbors take care of each other. We trim trees, we take heavy items to the dump for the elderly, we do all these things just because we love them. We are grateful for them. We want to be a blessing to them. But I still hadn’t ever really thought about it.
That’s how neighborhoods are supposed to look like. Most of the time the temptation is to stay inside. Sit in front of the TV or be consumed with ourselves. There doesn’t seem to be many neighbors meeting on the streets anymore just talking and feeding the stray kittens before we call animal services so they can be adopted. There doesn’t seem to be kids riding their bikes from house to house as much, but maybe it’s because I’ve just been inside for too long. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really thought about being a neighbor. I’m thinking it’s time that I really think this out.
The cool thing is, I didn’t move in here and automatically put on my good neighbor hat. We pretty much kept to ourselves. For the most part, we were the young people moving into the neighborhood. But that didn’t stop our neighbors who have been here for a while from blessing us. From waving to us and hollering out, “Hi, neighbor!” when we were outside.
My thoughts immediately go to the scripture in the gospels when Jesus tells us to love our neighbors.
The Great Commandment
Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
I’ve read this scripture over and over again. But because I have been loved on by my neighbors, I am beginning to get new revelation on what this means. And if Jesus said it was this great, you can hang your hat on it. The cool thing about how our neighborhood works is that nobody really sees helping each other or blessing each other as a burden. It’s a joy. They aren’t letting their right hands know what their left hands are doing. And when the sheep are divided from the goats, the sheep won’t know when they did all those good works unto Jesus, it’s because they got this. They were good neighbors. Good neighbors to everyone. The cool thing about being a good neighbor is that you’re not alone. You’re part of a community that loves and blesses each other. It’s the kingdom way: family, community, blessing, love… are you being a good neighbor? Do you know your neighbors? Go outside today. Smile and wave. Sometimes people just need to be shown kindness. What can you do to be a good neighbor? I’m definitely challenged this morning to want to be more of a blessing. I hope you are, too.
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