Who's Your Neighbor?

God tells us in John 13:34 to love one another. That may be easy with family and friends. But when we are asked to widen the circle of our loving relationships to strangers in our community or around the world, it may become a challenge. We may ask:
Who is my neighbor?
What does loving them look like?
How do I respond?

If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must love one another as God loved us. Not only love, but love as Jesus loves us.
People all around us are “our neighbors”, not just the ones that live next door to us. God has commanded us to love our neighbors. Someone in the Middle East suffering from war-induced hunger, needs to be fed. A homeless person asking for money may enjoy a good meal, a shower and a bed. A young boy in Tanzania is denied the opportunity to attend school because he can’t afford the mandatory uniform or school supplies. Perhaps I could provide that uniform and send needed supplies. Many women in developing nations walk miles each day to bring even dirty water to their families. I could raise money for a well or donate to a project of this sort. Two million children a year are forced into labor or prostitution to earn income. Young people like Zach Hunter, a young abolitionist, are freeing slaves by going without a fast food meal for instance. Two thousand children die each day from malaria, which has been eradicated in North America and Europe. So why hasn’t the problem been solved in the rest of the world? Doesn’t anyone care about these children? Governments need to step up and help their people. We can provide mosquito nets for a family for less than $10 which will help save lives. Women and children fleeing domestic violence and living in shelters or on the streets may not have health care. Again, governments and NGO’s need to continue working on this problem. Provide health care for less and provide health clinics in more villages, like Victor and his NGO are doing in Madagascar--training the people to dispense medicine and build small clinics to provide health care. If nothing else, I should be able to advocate for each of these causes. Let others become aware of the plight around the world. I could also do some fundraising and I could go.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
What leaves a deep impression on you about Jesus’ life and ministry on earth?

Thoughts on "Precious in His Sight"

There are over 2 billion children in the world. Half of them live in poverty, living off of less than $1.00 a day. 10,198 children will die from hunger today. Each child was created by God and no matter where they live or what their circumstance, they should be free to be all God intended them to be. They live in their own part of the world and God loves each and every one of them. We have been blessed to be a blessing to these children. How can we help? The numbers are too many. 100 million children have no access to an education--60 million of those children are girls. There are things we can do to help. We can pray for these precious little ones. We can advocate on their behalf--telling others what needs to be told even though, often times, no one wants to hear. We can go to the least of these, care for them, bless them, provide for them, teach them. It hurts knowing there are so many children in desperate situations around the world and even in our own country.
We need to meet their needs both spiritually and physically--simultaneously--they go hand in hand. These children have real lives, real hopes and real dreams. What am I going to do to help meet those needs and help make those dreams come true?