Loving Our Neighbours

This morning in our men's community group we discussed the parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus' reminder that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our being and to love our neighbours as ourselves. We had a great discussion about what that looks like in our culture and how it impacts some of the difficult issue that come up in people's lives.

Our talk really hit home in my heart this morning... especially being in a new community again. Before, in our previous home, it was VERY easy to make connections with our neighbours since everyone was pretty much a young family like ours. We could easily connect just based on the common ground we had with the age of our kids. In fact, every evening a large number of families would meet up at the park across from our house and the adults would socialize while the kids played.

Now, we find ourselves in a new city. And we moved into a community where, as of yet, I have not seen a single child. The house is nearly 40 years old and a lot of the residents are the original home owners. So all the kids have moved out. That creates an interesting dynamic. We don't have a lot in common with our neighbours any more.

It's easy to just allow ourselves to fall into the North American mold of independent living and not even knowing the names of the people who live right next door to us. Personally, I hate that. That just doesn't seem right to me. Even before I ever believed in God I've not liked that style of living. We've definitely lost something in our style of living that other cultures still embrace so openly.

So, I'm starting to pray for all my neighbours and that, even despite the differences, God will integrate us in that community for his glory.

How about you? How do you connect with your neighbours?

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