It is far better to love in some practical way one neighbor than to pray for blessing for all the world. We must love everyone but we only have time today to love the neighbor God has given us and that will be enough!
Good neighbor
Tell the Neighbors
He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” John 9:11 ESV
When Jesus changes your life or mine other people will want to know why. That may not be as dramatic as healing a man blind from birth but when God intervenes we are not the same. It feels intimidating talking to our neighbors about God and not everyone wants to hear your story for the right reasons. But if we are honest with others about our own problems and how God helps us to get through them, there will be some who will want to know more.
What also catches my attention every time I read this story is the crazy way Jesus goes about healing. He spits on the ground, makes mud and then smears it on this guy’s eyes. That I have definitely never seen at my church! While the details of how God fixes our issues may seem strange His results are undeniable. Maybe God chooses what seems different to catch people’s attention. We might be embarrassed but then nobody really thinks much about the mud on our eyes. They are mostly amazed at the Savior who gave us back our vision. God saw something in you and me when no one else would give us a second glance. God didn’t choose us because we were the best and the brightest. He chose us when we were blind so that we could say; “Now I see!”
The Gift of Being a Neighbor
When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? … So they were offended at Him. Matthew 13:54-57
Sometimes we Christians get hung up on what we should be doing to celebrate Christmas. Many just dive in to mall shopping, with scarcely a passing thought at the appropriateness of celebrating our Savior’s birth by buying everything in sight. Others militantly burn the Christmas tree, fire Santa and feel that sending Christmas cards wastes money better given to the Salvation Army. But I just end up feeling miserable and guilty enjoying seasonal fun while there is so much trouble in the world.
But what would Jesus do in our modern world? What would the Word made flesh do for Christmas? While most of us know that Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, how many of us have stopped to wonder how Jesus handled that? Jesus had neighbors too! While He took the time to talk with his neighbors He was also doing mighty works (Like healing some of them). But He was rejected! Have we decided to ignore our neighbors because they might reject us? Jesus would say something to us, “Welcome to the club!” Rejection doesn’t get us off the hook from the command to love. Maybe we should just start out by finding out what their name is! How about trying to meet your neighbor as your first gift of Christmas and then take it from there?
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