Have you ever heard the jingle: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there”?
It conjures up the image in our mind that what makes a neighbor good is that they are caring and available to you.
Recently, while a few of us went to lunch, we all entered through the same door of the establishment, ordered on the same line, and ate at the same table. There was one among us who I will refer to as the good neighbor. The good neighbor was attentive to our surroundings. While we were finishing our meal, the good neighbor began a subtle conversation with a worker. The next thing I saw was the good neighbor standing on line ordering a meal and then, carrying it over. But it was not for any of us. We had already eaten. The good neighbor had proceeded to take it to a man who was hanging around the establishment. I was choked up with tears by the good neighbor whose heart had been tender to the man evident through the act of kindness. I was challenged to realize that while I had noticed the man hanging around outside, I was focused on grabbing lunch, chatting with friends, going shopping, etc.
I am reminded of the parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:25-37. Jesus shared this in response to the question of who our neighbors are. While many of us may think it refers to the people who live next door, Jesus expounds on that definition. In the parable, a man was robbed, beaten, and left to die on the road. A priest saw him and passed by on the other side. A Levite saw him and passed by on the other side. Then, a Samaritan man saw him, bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn to take care of him, and paid for his stay until he recovered. We see that the Samaritan man was the neighbor by how he showed mercy to the man who was robbed.
Dear Lord, I pray that there might be more of You and less of me. Please help me to be a good neighbor.
“If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]’ you are doing well.” (James 2:8 AMP)
~Joyce
