What Would Your Neighbor Say?

If someone were to go to your neighbor and ask about you, what would your neighbor say?

Would your neighbor know you?
Would your neighbor appreciate you?

What do you believe the response of your neighbor would be? – Please consider these three responses below.

Note: I tell all three of these responses from a third-person perspective. These are not necessarily personal examples. In fact, assume they are not about me – but I will keep their identities anonymous. This is not a brag session of any kind and I’ll keep it non-personal. Instead, I am challenged just as you.

What Does the Bible Say About Being a Neighbor?

The Bible teaches:

• ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matt 22:39).
• He who despises his neighbor sins;
  But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he (Prov 14:21).
• For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:15).
• Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification (Rom 15:2).
• Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:10).
• Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
  Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
  Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away (Prov 27:10).
• “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex 20:17).

“I like having a neighbor like you.”

Is it possible your neighbor would unsolicited say to you, “I like having a neighbor like you”?

This recently happened in one incident where a homeowner was working outside and the neighbor came across the street to just give a word of greeting.

The homeowner asked, “Why would you say that?”

The neighbor replied, “Because as I observe you, you are a friend to many. I love a neighbor that is a friend to many. That’s the kind of people I want to be around with my family.”

Of course you can be a friend of many without being like Christ; however, if you desire to be like Christ and strive to serve others as Christ, you will invest in those around you. Hospitality. Kindness. Sacrifice.

You never know who is watching.

“This neighborhood would not be the same place without you.”

One church member walks through the neighborhood of another church member – just out for a walk to enjoy the beauty of the Ozarks. As this person walks, folks in the neighborhood say “Hi” and chat it up a bit. When asked where this person lives, the answer was, “Oh, I don’t live in this neighborhood, my friend does.”

When asked who the friend was, every person in the neighborhood who learned of the connection discussed what an honor it was to have that family in that neighborhood. One neighbor said, “This neighborhood would not be the same place without them.”

What a great testimony. These people as a family make a difference where God has planted them. Their neighborhood is a better place because they serve others as Christ.

“I don’t just consider you my neighbor, I consider you my brother/sister.”

As relationships build, conversations happen, and life is lived, a neighbor says to another, “I don’t just consider you my neighbor, I consider you my brother/sister.”

In this instance, both neighbors love Jesus although they go to different churches and from slightly different denominations. What they share together is love for Christ and fellowship in Christ. As opportunities present themselves, both neighbors seek to serve the other with a mutual respect and deep understanding of their connection in Christ.

What about You? What Would Your Neighbor Say?

What do you believe your neighbor would say?

The reality is that anyone can be a good neighbor. You do not need Christ in order to be friendly, kind, and caring.

However, as those who love and serve Christ, those who walk in the Spirit, and those who understand the Bible, no one should be a better neighbor than a Christ-follower. We alone should stand out as those who consider others’ interests as more important than self, those who creatively love others, those who are willing to go the extra mile, and those who are the most generous.

Why? Because as we do these things, we represent, imitate, and image our dear Savior.

Again, if you were to leave your neighborhood, would any care? Do you think they would notice? …would they be glad? Or, is it possible, they would grieve because you are strive to be so much like Christ?

 

 

Image Credit Christian Stahl