🫂NEIGHBOUR. (noun) A old
English word meaning “near dweller,” which aligns with the Dictionary.com definition of “a person who lives near or next to another. a person or thing near or next to another.”
In Hebrew, the word “re-a” means “friend, neighbour or fellow man.”
So why am I talking about neighbours in the same week I have been talking about smiling & being more mindful of connection wherever I go?
Because everyone I encounter is a neighbour!
I recently read “The World According to Mr Rogers” & one quote caught my eye.
“The more I think about it, the more I wonder if ‘God’ and ‘neighbor’ are somehow One. ‘Loving God, loving neighbor ‘ – the same thing? For me, coming to recognize that God LOVES EVERY NEIGHBOR* is the ultimate appreciation!” – Fred Rogers
I can still remember singing the theme song to Mr Rogers Neighborhood as a young child, 🎶’Please won’t you be my neighbour?’🎵
After loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, Jesus reminds us to love one another as ourselves. (Matthew 22:39)
“For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
As each person we encounter is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), we literally have the opportunity to treat them with honor, respect & compassion every time we meet.
Whether they can ever do anything for you or not.
This is the way Jesus treated people. He spoke truth & life whenever He could to people, often speaking in parables so people could discover things for themselves. He spoke to & ministered the ones society would rather not assist (lepers, chronically ill, the poor, tax collectors, ‘loose’ women, demon possessed, deaf, blind, mute…) as well as answered the genuine questions of faith of both the Jewish people & outsiders. He fed the hungry, restored loved ones to the hurting, & made ‘outcasts’ back into ones who belonged again.
Wherever Jesus went, He walked as a neighbour.
As His followers, we need to be good neighbours wherever we go as well. For His Kingdom goes where we go, and our King loves each one of His children, even if they don’t know Him well yet.
*Note: “neighbor” is the US spelling. Everywhere else spells it as “neighbour.”
KARLA LEES 