1 Corinthians 12:12  "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body."

 
RefocusChurch4

      Church Resources                                                          Back to Contents Page

 

Refocus Church

4. So why are 'neighbours' important?
   

     

A. What is God's Objective on the Earth?

 

  •  To answer this we need to briefly consider what happened in the Old Testament:
  •  God formed a nation, Israel , who would experience Him and convey that experience to the rest of the world. Gen 18:18 , 22:18 , 26:4
  •  Throughout the Old Testament, the clear indication is that Israel were to be a light to the nations.
  •  God's objective was to reveal Himself through Israel to the world.

  

  •  So who does He use now? Us! And who do we model ourselves on? Jesus.
  •  With the coming of Jesus that objective of loving his people was exemplified: We were shown how to be like the people God wanted us to be. Jesus revealed the Father.

   

  •  Ask most Christians what was the centre of Jesus' ethical teaching, and they will probably say it was 'Love Your Neighbour'. Matt 22:36-40
  •  'Love Your Neighbour' was not a new command - Lev 19:18

 

 

B. How does loving one's neighbour contribute to God's Objective on the Earth?

 

  •  If we look back at the LAW that Jesus was referring to, Jesus made it clear that "neighbour" did not merely mean people living close by.
  •  Just look at the sermon on the mount: Matthew 5:43-48
  •  Even clearer is that most famous of parables, the story of the Good Samaritan.
  •  The whole point of that story was to answer the question "Who is my neighbour": Luke 10:25-37

 

i) Christian ‘neighbours'

 

  •  The call is to love one another, encourage one another, support one another etc.
  •  And to build ‘the body' so that we can more effectively live out our lives and reach out to those round about us who don't know Him.
  •  1 Corinthians 12:12-31 Talks explicitly of how we are to operate as a body. And to do this in LOVE

 

ii) Non-Christian ‘neighbours'

 

  •  Quite often people feel that we have to preach to our neighbours in order to save them. However as the saying goes: “actions speak louder than words”.
  •  Matthew 5:14-16 tells us to not hide who we are but show through our deeds (actions) the love that we have from God.

 

C. So what can we do?

 

  •  Simply look for opportunities or needs.
  •  Simple things, born out of love, for your neighbour.
  •  But after the good deeds come the questions. And this is where, when you are given the opportunity, you are able to share your faith with those who are asking questions.
  •  Pray for those opportunities to happen and they will.

      

  •  When we bless other people - God blesses us.
  •  Christ, of course, blesses us first, so that we may be a blessing to others.
  •  The impact we make in a simple, kindly gesture of blessing, comes back to us and gives our life extra meaning and at the end of the day we can look back, knowing we have helped someone.
  •  It is a truly beautiful, Godly feeling.

    

  •  "I tell you the truth," says Jesus. "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matt. 25:40.)
  •  That's the reason we do it!

 

A Final Comment

If many of us are honest, 'neighbours' are a threat. The media talks of 'neighbours from hell' and the picture is often painted of those 'next door' who are either a nuisance or just plain weird! What these caricatures do is detract from the plan that God has on His heart to bless the rest of the world through us.

As far as Jesus was concerned, a 'neighbour' was simply anyone we encountered, whatever colour or creed. His picture in the parable of the Good Samaritan shows that he wants us to see encounters with other people to be opportunities to bring God's love and blessing to them.

If we aren't sure about who we are as God's children, we will feel defensive and inadequate and often fearful of other people. Whoever it is you encounter, remember that Jesus loves them and it may just be that he's giving you the opportunity to bring his love to them. As you receive his love, you you can share his love. Being loved brings transformation.

As we are transformed by God's love, we can start to see others through His eyes, and when we do we will realise their needs, their feelings of inadequacy and their inabilities, and see that Jesus is the answer to all of those. As we love them, so their hearts can be opened to receive the practical love, acceptance and care that He wants to bring through us. THIS is the wonder of 'loving our neighbour'.