Our conversation with the orthopedic surgeon went far beyond my knee that day. With my husband by my side, we discussed life, family, kids, our recent move, his barn building project, and recreational activities like dirt bike riding and the gym! It was far more than a simple doctor’s visit. It felt like friends catching up. He cared about more than just my physical condition, but our life and family. In the conversation, we discovered we only live a few miles from each other. We watched the progress of his beautiful barn being built slowly but surely on our way to the gym every day, and he rode his motorcycle out by our place to enjoy the wide-open spaces! We knew exactly where he lived. It is a small world after all! Before he left the room he said, “Be neighborly, and stop by sometime if you see us outside!” That spoke volumes. A surgeon took the time to pause and tell us to stop by his home to say hello sometime.
“Be neighborly.” I have not forgotten that. We aren’t direct neighbors, but he wasn’t referring to that. He was referring to being neighborly. I think about it every time I drive past his home and barn. As I pass by, I often think of Mr. Rogers zipping up his classic sweater, and then I begin singing in my head… “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine? Could you be mine?” It makes me smile. Our world, during this moment in history, has become so hectic and busy. It’s almost becoming abnormal to slow down and “be neighborly” these days. I don’t believe that’s the way God intended it.
The Bible teaches us about slowing down and being neighborly. Can you think of some examples? Luke 10:25-37 highlights the Parable of the Good Samaritan and says, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.’” (ESV).
Our neighbor isn’t simply the home next door or across the street. Our neighbors are those we pass by daily. What does it mean for you to be neighborly? Will you take time to pray now and ask God to show you how to be neighborly? Ask Him to show you who you can slow down for and talk to, help, support, encourage, show compassion to, listen to, and show mercy to? Your neighbor this morning may be different than your neighbor this afternoon! And your neighbor tomorrow may be different than yesterday’s. Don’t just be a passerby. Be neighborly!
How can you make Monumental Moments and live to multiply His movement today?
