neighbor

​I have some great neighbors, but a few are a bit quirky too.  One woman walks her dogs every day no matter the weather, but also chooses to sit down on people's grass if she gets tired and needs a rest.  One mows his grass multiple times a week, even when it looks fine to me.  One has clothes for their dog.  But no matter how odd some of their behaviors seem to me, we take care of each other.

When I needed someone to water our garden while we were on our summer trip, a neighbor boy came and did it for free.

When a neighbor lost a tree in a big wind storm, several chipped in to cut it up and move it for them (including my 10 year old and I...I was proud of him that day).

We help each other out.  We watch out for each other's homes.  We are often willing to lend a hand or loan out a tool or let someone borrow that cup of sugar.

In Luke 10, Jesus commands the people to "love their neighbor as themselves" and then tells us a story about what this looks like as one man helps out another who is in a tough spot.

In this definition of neighbor, we realize that Jesus doesn't just mean the people we already know and like, but any fellow man (or woman) who we encounter and that love isn't a feeling but an action.

You may have been at church on Sunday to hear about a new opportunity we will have as a church to be a part of Family Promise of Hamilton County (www.fpofhc.org) where we can show our love in action to families in our community who are homeless and need some help.

I pray you will prayerfully consider making this ministry one that you support with your time and effort as we seek to be good neighbors.


In Christ,
Pastor Scott McDermid