"Who is my neighbor?" A lawyer who was not really interested in the truth asked Jesus once. To answer, Jesus told the story of a man from Samaria who once helped a stranger who had been beaten mercilessly by robbers.
The point of the story? Your neighbor is the person in need you come in contact with and decide to help. So your neighborhood then becomes the place where you decide to spread joy and service in the name of Christ.
So being a neighbor is not related to location, it is related to perspiration. It is not about proximity to your house, it is about proximity to your heart. It is not simply the person you wave to on your way to and from work, it is the person you walk to and decide to pour God's blessings on, no strings attached.
Your neighborhood is your garden (2 Corinthians 3:9 -- "you are God's garden!"). It is the plot of land God has planted you in. He expects you to blossom in it. Dare to try Him on this one!
Grace is going back to the neighborhood this year. No, we still want you to come to church and bring your friends. But we also want you to turn your eyes to people around you who are in need. Join with others in bringing a ray of sunshine into their lives and in the process to point them to this wonderful Messiah we so dearly love. Open your homes to people on your block, let the sounds of laughter be heard on your back porch.
Make this year the year when you discovered that God wanted you to be on mission -- across the sea and across the fences. It's your turn to shine for God.We will use this blog to tell stories about our adventure. Please, feel free to comment and give suggestions. We welcome them.We need your help. Let us know what you are doing in your neighborhood.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." (Philippians 2:14-15).
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade
itrindade@woostergrace.org
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