Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

 I'm not sure Jesus would approve of the way we treat our neighbors. 

I think Fred Rogers was onto something with his little song, "Who are the people in your neighborhood...they're the people that you meet each day...". But, our neighborhood is global, and our neighbors include all of humanity--"even unto the ends of the earth". It's easy to lose track of that fact, when you can't see and may never know someone. 

Still, if we recognized the world as a neighborhood and everyone in it as our neighbor--because we are ALL "made in the Image of God and after His Likeness". Each person is the apple of God's eye. I love what Max Lucado wrote: "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it".

We seem to have trouble making the connection between ourselves and others who may look, speak different than us--or have cultural differences that we may not share or understand. When we forget that those people who may be very different are in fact, our neighbors and brothers and sisters, it becomes very easy to dehumanize them. We see them as the "other", and begin to treat them as the enemy. 

Sometimes, we treat people who (may actually be our neighbors) think differently than we do as enemies, as well. Nothing should have us--especially Christians thinking in such an exclusive way. Besides, our differences make us all special and unique. God didn't break the mold after He made the folks who are like you. He continued to show His creativity as He made us varying colors of His rainbow. The color that He chose for each of us, is His choice--and the difference is only skin deep. If none of us had the ability of physical sight, we could love and show compassion to everyone. He gave us eyes to see the beauty of everything He made, and to call it all "good", as He did. 

Unfortunately, with our hardened hearts we use our eyes as instruments for hate, racism and evil. We don't want everyone as (or in) our neighbor. We prefer exclusivity over inclusion. We only want people around who look, think and act like us. We even allow secular man made concepts like politics to make us enemies. 



If we don't learn how to love (those we otherize--and often demonize) we will become the other; excluded from an eternity that we hope for and cling to. We will be the "goats" and not the "sheep" that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25. And, He sends "goats" to eternal death, not life. It won't matter what you did in His Name--or how many good deeds you have under your belt. He will say, "depart from Me, you workers of iniquity". Jesus meant what He said; and He said what He meant. If you have goat-like behavior--not caring for and about your neighbor, you are heading in the wrong direction. You have twisted motives. We were not given the option to choose who to love. 

We are required to love everyone. This is the greatest commandment. We must love Him with all of our soul, heart and mind; AND we must love our neighbors as ourselves. If we don't, we are without hope. Anything less than unadulterated love is failure. 

All of us struggle to love, but we don't get a free pass. Instead, we are obligated to ask for the grace we need to love as He loves. Love active in us is quite compelling and it will draw men and women to Him. We cannot be repellents of the Gospel. Love draws, while hate, discord, and dehumanization repels.


Be the Church (not simply the church). Embrace everyone as you want God to love and embrace you. Be His heart and hands in a hostile world. Love your "enemies", "and so fulfil the Law of God".


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