My Next Door Neighbor and My NextDoor App

As I was on my early morning walk yesterday, I saw neighbors putting up this Happy Birthday display for their neighbors across the street from them. Hello, blog for this day! Neighbors loving neighbors. Sound familiar?

I’m counting my blessings because I have next door neighbors who I think are on assignment as my guardian angels. They’re the kind of folks who go beyond the call of duty. They’re always looking out for me and checking on me. When I forget to let my garage door down, they are there. I like to think that I’m pretty good at reciprocating. I think we're doing a pretty good job of obeying Jesus’ important second commandment to the “T”: “‘You must love your neighbor as yourself”. Luke 10:27

Last week I talked about the blessing of the NextDoor app. If you’re in a neighborhood, It must be there for you, too! It’s a great online app where you can get recommendations for excellent doctors, lawn, irrigation, electrical and plumbing people. I asked if anyone had a bike I could purchase for my granddaughter and a sweet couple simply gave one they no longer used. I asked for boxes when my kids were moving and a neighbor had more than enough broken down and ready to go. It's also a "lost and found" blessing and we've used it to help us find our little 5-pound Yorkie, twice, when she sneaked out the door or yard.

Right now, there are Biden and Trump signs everywhere in my community. We may not agree on political candidates, but we definitely agree that relationships matter more than politics. We treat each other with respect, disagree agreeably (and often with humor). Neighbors loving neighbors.

Hands down, Jesus took neighboring to a whole new level when he talked about the Jewish man who had been beaten, robbed and left for dead by bandits and the only one to his rescue was the Samaritan (enemies to the Jews) who saw him and was moved with compassion. He took care of him to the point of paying for his care. Jesus’ answer to the scribe’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” was answered when He said, “Go and do what the Samaritan did.” When Jesus said, "neighbor", I think He was actually saying "our fellow man or woman". That is surely loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

In these days, that’s a HUGE statement! It suggests that all of God’s children must be our neighbors and we must love them just as the Samaritan man did! In this time of deep political hostility, biased opinions, and debates about what's moral or immoral and what’s right and wrong, I’m confident that Jesus would still say the same thing today. So, then, the question really is: “Lord, there are so many that don’t agree with my philosophies, my faith, my values and my opinions, so then, WHO really is my neighbor?” I’m quite sure He’s responding "ALL MY KIDS are neighbors! After 2,000 years of Me telling you that…..nothing has changed in my record books. It’s STILL ‘Love your neighbors as you love yourselves!”"

L-O-V-E — that’s a 4-letter action word. And you know what? That “LOVE your neighbor” admonition doesn’t have UNLESS in it anywhere!

Would We Look the Other Way?

I don’t know about you, but I did. Looked the other way, that is! It seemed there were beggars holding signs on every corner of this busy Austin intersection. The light was red and one was coming down the line of cars toward me. I hoped for the light to turn green before he got to me. It did. Whew! Spared that dilemma: “Do I give him a dollar or some change or do I avoid looking at him?” I avoided looking at him. But, my conscience hurt as I passed him. Would it have been worth the change or a dollar to NOT have this moment when I felt like I let God down. After all, I am that girl who makes up bags of a water bottle and a package of crackers and cheese to at least give something. How could I be so heartless?

Yesterday, my blog was about "Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves." The emphasis on "loving ourselves". Now today, our Gospel reading in Luke 10, Jesus speaks those words to an inquiring lawyer. I want "neighbor" clarified once and for all! The lawyer and I both ask: "So who is my neighbor anyway?"

I dove deeper into Jesus response. Whatever this lawyer had in mind for the answer, I’m sure it wasn’t the story that Jesus told. And I’m sure it's not what we would expect either. We all may know the parable of the Good Samaritan that followed in Jesus response. It seems the “neighbor” is the man going to Jericho who was beaten and left for dead -- the one who three men encounter. I think the "Good Samaritan", the one who helped this man, also proved to be a good neighbor. It made me want to be like this Samaritan who helped when help was needed and not get all caught up in questions about who we're supposed to help, and when, where and how, and what if it will make me late for church on Sunday if I stop? I know the dialogue well!

What I’ve come to realize about our neighbors is it's more about OUR identity, not theirs. What matters first is who we are. The radical truth is that in Christ we have been given a right standing before God and we are propelled in love for God and others by the power of His Spirit in us. So that affects the way we see those around us. It's not because they've become something different, but because we have.

Of course, we could make a thousand qualifiers. The Good Samaritan didn't give his spare change to buy another bottle of whiskey, and from what I understand in working with the homeless, it’s not the best use of our resources either. But I’m thinking that more importantly is that maybe we get lost in the qualifiers too often — about when help can hurt and who are the poor. These are all important questions, and we do well to give them careful thought.

But while we think, and think we must, may we never lose sight that the central issue has to do with how the Gospel message bears on our own souls. God made us new creatures in Christ — empowered to love others for His sake. I’m sure God wants us to help the poor and blesses us when we do. In the words of the Psalmist David: “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes” (Psalm 41:1-2).

It is indeed a worthy cause to help the poor, including the sign-holders on our street corners. Each of us must respond to these people as the Lord guides us, not forgetting at the same time to offer prayers for needy people. Personally, I’m determined to not over-analyze should I or shouldn’t I, but I think I’m going to make up some more of those bags or have a protein bar on hand to give to them, look them in the eyes and say “God loves you and so do I.” How could that be anything but loving my neighbor as I love myself and God loves me?

Water for our Thirsty Souls

Bryson, my youngest grandson, and I were sitting on the deck overlooking the Sea of Cortez. We were talking about a tsunami and the devastation that it can cause. Then he asks me: "What is it that you can’t live without, but it can also kill you?” My “thinker” kicked in and I said: “WATER!” He pondered out loud: “Wonder what it feels like to be drowning?” Me: “Well, have you ever been stuck underwater and couldn’t get a breath?” Without hesitation, Bryson replies: “Oh, yes, it’s called brothers!”

Oh, that boy! The fact is water makes up about 70 percent of our body. It’s a crucial ingredient that helps our brain think, blood flow, and our muscles move. But what happens after we sweat through an aerobics class, spend a day at the beach, or simply ignore our thirst? Dehydration, and it's different for everyone. It depends on how much we’re exercising, the temperature around us, and how much we sweat, but it can get dangerous quick. Suddenly, I’m very thirsty. I just paused to get a bottle of water!

No matter if it comes from a bottle with a brand name or the faucet in our home or mountain spring, water can improve our physical health. But, it can't grant us peace and joy in this life, as well as eternal life. Jesus brought a whole new meaning to water – it is essential in the natural and it is essential in the spiritual. In John 4:5-42, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Referring to the actual well of Jacob, Jesus says “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.” He was referring to every well, stream, lake and source of fresh liquid water. But to the woman and to you and me, Jesus tells us where the real, true fountain of “youth” (the joy and peace that spring up from within) and eternal life is, by saying, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give, you will never thirst. The water that I shall give will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus calls the water that He gives living water.

Unlike bottled water at the convenience store, we can't just go and buy the living water of the Holy Spirit. Something more is required. That something is becoming clean and pure by the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. We put so much emphasis on keeping things clean in our homes. We wash everything: our clothes, dishes, hands, bodies, even our water. It’s not enough that it gets purified at the water treatment plant, it has to be filtered and purified again.

So, we ask, “Do I give as much attention to the cleansing and purification of my soul as I do with my body from germs?” Let's return to Jacob’s well for a moment – perhaps your well is represented by your church or a small group or even in your daily devotions – the places to go to encounter Christ and drink of the living water of the Holy Spirit. And most beautiful, are the waters of baptism that represents the old man and all his sins are washed away and a new man arises to abundant life in Christ here and for eternity.

Don’t be fooled, those cheap imitations in fancy brand-named bottles can quench a thirst in the heat, but nothing compares to drinking at the springs of living water that only Jesus can provide!

Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."