(This is not part of the remembering series…you’ll figure that out pretty quick!)
As we were walking to our cars after dropping our sons off for church camp, it slid out of my mouth as it had so many times before. “We need to get together!”. It almost made me angry at myself, like why did I say that? So what did I do? I followed it up with something along the lines of “I know we say that all the time, but we really do”. But we don’t. The plans are never made and why not? I suspect we could all come up with numerous reasons why the words to my friend aren’t just MY words. It’s also something that has been said to me many times, and I fully believe each time they are said that the desire and intention is within them…at least in part. My frustration with myself in this is because God has been calling me to more than just the string of letters blended together in speech. He has commanded us all to love our neighbor as ourselves. It isn’t something He haphazardly threw out and hoped it stuck. His “first and greatest commandment” in Matthew 22 was to love him, and the second…love your neighbor.
So who IS your neighbor?
I actually did a study on this a few years ago and what I learned was I don’t actually know many of my physical neighbors at all. You know, those people God has intentionally planted in close proximity with permanent structures? Yep, don’t know ‘em. Before you try to defend me in any way, we have lived in the same house for over 16 years. Gosh that’s tough to admit. A couple of them I kind of know, like their names and occupations (thanks to facebook). I’m telling you; this is a problem for me. But here’s the deal, it was a problem for my entire Home Group as well. So why do we as Christians who are commanded to love our neighbors not even KNOW them? I can come up with a variety of excuses from our neighborhood has rear entry garages so we just don’t see each other to my kids are older and aren’t out in the neighborhood playing so we don’t interact much. Regardless of whatever could be used as defense, the bottom line that God has been pressing into me lately is I am failing to follow one of his greatest commands. In fact, the words in Mark 12:31 love God and love others is followed up with “there is no commandment greater than these”. I have some work to do.
In that study years ago, we walked through the definition of neighbor and how it doesn’t just rest upon those whose address shares a street name. So it includes friends, we can love our friends, right? That’s an easy one so I am at least partially good on the commandment. Nopsie. Remember how I started this entry? (AND God doesn’t call us to partial obedience so there’s that.) There are so many rabbit trails I am tempted to chase here. What exactly is a neighbor? Is partial obedience ok? What is the definition of love? I’m just going to stick with what the Holy Spirit has been convicting me of and encouraging me to write about.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth”. 1 John 3:18
Loving others is active. It absolutely can be in the form of a text, a phone call, a smile, or a quick conversation when you run into each other at camp drop off. However, Jesus didn’t have the occasional reaching out in mind when he inspired the apostle John to pen his words. The context of the scripture was on loving one another, laying down our lives for one another, and giving our material possessions to those in need. What does this look like for me? Well, it begs me to focus on “my life”. In Jeremiah 10:23, Jeremiah prays “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” My life is not my own. Period. I make choices everyday to live as Christ, or to live as Sonya. To live as Sonya might look like staying inside all day, and currently very few would fault me for this based on my decline in health over the past year. To live as Sonya might look like binging on a Netflix series, scrolling through social media, responding or sending texts to friends, carpooling or just floating in the pool.
Where in that did I live as Christ? How did I lay down my life for another?
While carpooling could be seen as loving others, let’s be honest. I have to transport my own son so carrying a few extras who live in the neighborhood isn’t exactly a sacrifice. I also want to note that a sacrifice for me or laying my life down may not look the same as a sacrifice for someone else. I shared with my bible study girls the other night God’s prompting me to love beyond my borders and how reluctant I am. I love the safety of my home and family. Relationships can be messy and so meeting my neighbors might involve me in messes, so that keeps me indoors. My personality is kind of an extroverted introvert. While I enjoy being with others at times being at home alone or with my family recharges me…so sometimes stepping out IS the sacrifice. You may have a personality that draws you to every social event and happening within a 100 mile radius, but your own family may be what Christ is calling you to sacrifice for. And, we can all relate to being with our family but having our focus settled on whatever app is open.
Can you imagine sitting next to Jesus, but he is captivated by a reel or post?
As if the Holy Spirit didn’t already have my number on all of this, our pastor spoke about it last week. A missionary was in town and asked where all of the people are. His response…in our homes. The realization that this is bigger than just me staying safe and secure with my salvation in my own home hit me in the face. God has been calling me to reach beyond for a while now, but the call is getting louder and louder. More than a year ago we purchased a print to hang in our dining room for guests to sign.
This was very purposeful in an effort to remind me to extend the invites and love my neighbor. The print stayed upstairs out of the way for months and months, finally made it to the dining room, but I still haven’t embraced its original intention. To be purposeful in inviting others over REGULARLY to share a meal…and to share life. To love my neighbors through the hospitality God has planted in my heart. To step past the messy, the awkward, and the days when my health presses me in bed and refuses to budge. To take the hand of God and allow him to be bigger than every excuse I have to keep to myself. To say “we need to get together” and then follow it up with a time and date. Can you imagine a world where we were all obedient and committed to the command to love our neighbor? Have you ever gotten into an argument because someone was trying to out love you? I can’t say I’ve seen a news story about an incident of hostility between people who were trying to determine who showed more love.
Love God, love others. Let’s do this!
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