To Love My Next-Door Neighbor
Light of the World,
When you told us to love our neighbor, you were calling us to extend our love to all people in need. Yet, when we think about how to put this into practice, sometimes we forget about our physical neighbors who literally live next door to us. Some we know quite well; others we may not even know by name. Shift our perspective to view our next-door neighbors front-line opportunities to let our light shine and put love into practice.
Help me to be deliberate about building deeper relationships with my neighbors by meeting their needs whenever I can and being interested in their lives in general. When neighbors are without faith in you as their Savior, let me pay special attention to them so that I am very aware of openings to bring you into the picture in one way or another. Whatever it looks like in my context, however the chance arises, let me boldly love my neighbor – starting with the one next door.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.