Jesus told us to love our neighbors the way we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). How do we do that when many times we do not even know our neighbors? Of course when the Rabbi spoke of neighbors He went beyond geographic boundaries but still how can I show love to someone I don’t even know? Maybe that’s the point? I need to make an effort to get to know my neighbor so I can be a fresh expression of God’s love.
I think about my geographic neighbor a lot, especially when I mow my yard. Sometimes I think, wouldn’t it be nice if I mowed my neighbor’s yard? Then I think, yeah, when I get done mowing my yard then I will mow his yard. The problem is by the time I am finished with my yard this old and too often too cynical pastor is too tired to mow an extra yard. Can I get an amen?
We call these kinds of thoughts “good intentions” and the road to both heaven and hell is paved with them. One day I will stand before Jesus (2nd Corinthians 5:10) and my good intentions are going to burn up. God calls these things “wood, hay and stubble” (1st Corinthians 3:12-13).
I’m probably the only one that thinks like this, but I see myself standing in front of Jesus on that day and He says, “Kenny, it’s good to see you. Show Me what you’ve got?”
So I share with Jesus the stuff I’ve done and sadly most of it burns up right in front of me and then Jesus says, “Do you have anything else?”
I dig around in my pockets and pull out a couple of old sunflower seeds, a button that fell off my shirt earlier in the day and my Sierra Blue iPhone 13 that I spent so much time on.”
Pretty much nothing right? The good news in that story is I can change that today by getting busy about God’s business!
Philippians 2:3-4 tells me I have to count others as more significant than myself, and I have to think about the interests of others, not just my own interests.
In Paul’s first letter to Corinth he wrote, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” (1st Corinthians 10:24).
Wait, what?! Practice the “Golden Rule?” “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). Actually do what the Bible says to do?
What I’m saying is I have to mow my neighbor’s yard first. That’s a counter cultural idea isn’t it? If I am going to be successful at this love my neighbor thing I am going have to put other things ahead of myself including my neighbor, Jesus and His precepts.
What I have to do is stop patting myself on the back for just having the idea of loving my neighbor and take action because after all love is only known by its actions
In Matthew 20:16 Jesus said, “To be first, you gotta be last.” Hey, I gotta go. I have to go next door and introduce myself to the people who live next door.
He told me to tell you that.
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