Corona Devo 264
Do you know your neighbors?
Sure, you may know their names or what kind of dog they have (and when they walk it), but actually getting to know our neighbors takes time and intentionality...and heart. We have to care enough to step outside of ourselves (and our home) to get to know a neighbor. And too often we don't make the effort.
Life is busy. Schedules are full. But do you ever wonder what is happening behind the front door that is right next door, or a few doors down? We should. Jesus told us to Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).
Why do you think He said that? Well, any Sunday-school-attending child knows the "correct" answer is because we should treat others as we want to be treated. It is right to be kind, and Jesus loved His neighbors, even when they were unlovely.
All of this is true and correct, and Biblically sound. And if you do not have a friendship (yet) with a neighbor, it can begin over a plate of brownies passed through the door, a hand-picked bouquet of flowers from your yard, or a driveway shoveling on the morning after a big snowfall.
But my interpretation for today on the "neighborly" scriptures in the Bible has a grateful plot-twist added. For I have just been on the receiving end of neighbors loving our family as they love themselves. (Love your neighbor as yourself. ~Mark 12:31).
We had a heavy (over 300 pounds!) appliance to move out of our house for repair. My husband had the plan, and the vehicle, we just needed a neighbor or two to help carry-out the plan.
I am thankful for the first neighbor that came right over, even though life is busy, and schedules are full. He jumped right in, and not only shared his muscle, but also his mental-muscle in terms of his experience and wisdom on similar processes. He exemplified Romans 15:2-- Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
Things went perfectly as they moved it out of the house, down the steps, across the driveway...until trying to fit it in the van. We had the ramp, we had the appliance up-the-ramp, but it was a teensy-bit too tall to fit in the vehicle. Now what?
Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31).
As we stood holding the (heavy) appliance at the top of the ramp, and contemplating tipping it over, dipping it down...we heard someone shouting. Sometimes a neighbor loving you sounds like them shouting your name.
And then I saw this verse (Love your neighbor as yourself. ~Mark 12:31) lived out right before our eyes as this neighbor hopped in his truck and proceeded to back his pick-up truck into our driveway and put the tailgate down.
Who does that? (Love your neighbor as yourself. ~Mark 12:31).
Sometimes God shows us a verse or what being a good neighbor looks like so that we can know that His Word is real. This was for real. Even after discussing the distance we would need to drive (over an hour) for the repair, our neighbor was adamant about us using his vehicle. He was loving us.
He could have stayed in his garage. He could have made a lot of other choices. But He walked in God's ways:
(27) Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. (28) If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” ~Proverbs 3:27-28
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