Love your Neighbor- Part 1

“…love your neighbor as well as you love yourself.”

Luke 10:27 The Message 

I’ve always thought that what I have taught in congregations has been dwarfed by the amazing amount of things that congregations have taught me.  In the last church I served, I have to say I learned more about mission than I ever had before.  In the midst of an incredibly difficult transition, this congregation showed me the power of loving the neighbor and how it can also help heal us in the process.

This congregation had a strong mission and outreach for many years, sending mission teams to Nicaragua, Haiti, Biloxi and the gulf states, and it had a strong partnerships with several inner city congregations. Outreach and loving the neighbor wasn’t just a task, it was part of the fabric of who they were as the People of God. 

So when there was a major transition and everything seemed turned upside-down, it would be understandable for most congregations to turn in on themselves and cut back on mission efforts.  This congregation didn’t miss a beat. Within a couple weeks they sent their mission team to Biloxi to help rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina. The mission team members spoke of how important that trip was in their own processing and healing, and how God had worked through that time to strengthen them, even as they helped others.

The relationship with an inner-city sister congregation was also strengthened, as they also faced the transition between pastors at the same time.  The partnership of equals that had been nurtured so long was really coming to fruition as prayer, support and love flowed even more freely between these two very different groups of people.

The congregation continued its planned major outreach at Christmastime, with over 200 volunteers from the church helping to pull it off. It was, as they called it, a ‘gift to the whole city’ as they shared the Christmas message. 

When the earthquake hit Haiti then in January, this congregation responded with immediate care and aid. The sense was that part of the ‘family’ had been hurt and we had to help. The planned trip 6 weeks later went off as scheduled with an even greater outpouring of care and help for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

And so it continued, that even as they were working on finding the path that God was laying out before them, this congregation continued to serve the neighbor.  To this day, even as I look back and see what they had accomplished (and do even more now!) I am humbled to have been able to walk with them and learn with them.  God showed me in living color, how love multiplies as you give it away.  Focusing upon the need of the neighbor continued to give purpose in a wilderness time. Love for the neighbor helped remind them that the reason they existed was bigger than the pain they were experiencing.  Loving the neighbor kept them going through some of the darkest days, and helped them to be even more powerful witnesses to the Gospel.

These reflections this morning are more than just a humidity induced rambling from me—(although you never know J ).  Reflecting upon the congregation and its outreach in the wilderness time encourages me to reach out to the neighbor…to see what our local mission might need during this heat wave, even as I face the extremes of this heat. Loving the neighbor was part of what inspired this blog, as God compelled me, now that I had better understanding of this chronic illness wilderness, to reach out and encourage and teach others. 

What we will find is that the benefits of loving the neighbor far outweigh the efforts, particularly during difficult times.  The Lord’s blessing of purpose, meaning and grace flows even more extravagantly back to us when we make the steps to love our neighbor.

How might God be inspiring you to love a neighbor (near or far) today?  What seed might God have planted in your heart to reach out to others even while you are in this wilderness journey?  I invite you to pray about it, and then act with wisdom and generosity.  It will be so very much worth it, that you’ll want to do it again.

God of Grace, Help me to love my neighbor in real, tangible ways. Show me the path, and I ask you to please bless the efforts, for their sake and for mine. Amen.