Love Your Neighbor

Which Way to Go?

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But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:11 NIV

Don’t you wish that following God’s guidance could be like entering an address into your GPS? Then knowing the right direction would be as simple as listening to the calm pleasant voice alerting us to turn at the next intersection.

smartphone car technology phone

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But finding the right career path, soul-mate or next apartment is not about knowing which way to turn. God’s word is clear that what matters to Him is in how we treat the people around us. In fact He tells us that we are stumbling through life because we are mistreating, manipulating or using others for our own advantage in ways that God calls hate. When we treat anyone with hate then we walk straight out of the presence of God and down a dark path. It reminds me of when we were driving home from Northern Vermont. The GPS in our car kept saying, “Satellite transmission lost”. We kept going the wrong way and sometimes even in circles until we stopped at a gas station and asked directions.  In the same way finding the right spiritual direction means following directions from someone who can show us the way. That someone is Jesus Christ, who loved us even when we were his enemies and showed us the way to His Home.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11 KJV

Run over anyone’s mailbox lately?

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And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   Matthew 22:39

Our neighbors may know we go to church but they also know see how we clean our house and what laundry we hang out on the line! As God’s children we need to act in loving ways to all kinds of people at all kinds of unexpected times.

Long ago when I worked on a tree trimming crew our practice was to eat our lunch in the truck on the job site. So one day while we were clearing along  a narrow road at lunch I pulled the truck off to the side as far as I could in order to allow cars to pass. When it was time to get back to work, I started up the truck and began to pulling forward when I suddenly heard a loud crunch. Slamming on the brakes and jumping out I discovered that I had run over someone’s mailbox.

Kevin, my co-worker was doubled over with laughter, “You’re in trouble now Pete!” he said with glee. I was frustrated and embarrassed but humbly I walked up the driveway, knocked on the door of the house.  What a relief it was that the lady who owned the mailbox was understanding and accepted my apology as well as my offer to come back to fix it after work.

When I got back to the truck Kevin had stopped laughing and as I started to pick up my tools to return to work he turned and said, “Now I really believe you are a Christian!”  It wasn’t too long after that when Kevin gave his heart to the Lord. So if we want to love our neighbor as ourselves  sometimes, apologizing for running over their mailbox is  the best way!

Tell the Neighbors

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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!”