Love Thy Neighbor

I live in a town that probably considers itself Christian. There are several churches boasting full parking lots on Sunday, christian music on the secular station on Sunday mornings, among other things.

Our town also has a large hispanic population and a large Somali refugee population. Jacob and I find the diversity beautiful. Our favorite places to eat are restaurants owned and run by minority families. But if you go downtown, where a majority of the Hispanic and Somali populations live and work, you will see few white people.

Now, it may be that Jacob and I are simply not downtown at the same time as many other white people. But many people that I've talked to simply don't go there. Or they don't want to go alone. Or they are afraid they won't be welcomed. But every time Jacob and I have gone, we've been welcomed with smiles, joy, kindness, and love. People are delighted when I speak to them in Spanish. They're grateful that Jacob is willing to try (almost) whatever food they put in front of him. They're more than willing to talk for a few minutes, all for the sake of being a good neighbor.

I know that I have mentioned that all people are made in the image of God in many of my posts. I also know how much people love to say that, as if acknowledging it as a fact means they're actually somehow acting upon it. The truth is that people inherently need to both give and receive love. But for some reason, we're afraid to go out and give love to those who are different.

Here is where people are probably thinking about that time they went on that one mission trip to *insert location* where they played with children or helped build houses or ate the food they eat every day and how grateful they were for what they had when they got back. But how long were you grateful? When you got home what did you do to carry over that wonder and learning into your own community? Do we only care about minority groups when they are tucked neatly into their corner of the world and our communities are safe and easy to live in?

Are we, as Christians, doing our best to treat people as Jesus treated people? As he taught the disciples to treat people? Do we give dignity to those who the world says are unworthy? Do we spread the good news of hope, mercy and grace?

In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked an expert in the law who was a good neighbor. The expert replied that it was the man who had shown mercy. It didn't matter that the men came from different backgrounds, different faiths, different places in the world. The samaritan truly chose to love his neighbor.

Jesus had a one-sentence response: "Go and do likewise."

So that's what I'll do. I'll continue to go on mission trips and help those around the world. I'll continue to learn from those, and I'll continue to come home from them with a grateful heart. But I'll also go out into my community. I'll meet and talk to those who are different than me. I'll do my best to show them hope, mercy, and grace.

I hope you join me.