Neighbors And Friends

The whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Let’s have a neighborhood movie night,” Noelle’s dad suggested.

Noelle’s ears perked up. She and her family live in Minnesota where the cold, snowy months can seem like they’ll never end. When spring finally arrives, neighbors she’s barely seen in months start coming outside to mow their lawns and plant flowers, and summer isn’t far behind.

Noelle loves spending hours outside on those long, sunny days. Sometimes she only comes inside when she’s hungry. Otherwise, she’s too busy running through the sprinkler with Finley, playing with her sisters and Selah in a blow-up pool, riding her bike over to Meredith’s, and creating elaborate games on the swing set in the backyard with Lily. And after a long winter, it was finally nice enough outside to do all those things.

“We’ll host the movie next Saturday,” Noelle’s dad continued, getting more excited about his idea.

Noelle felt excited too. She quickly ran over to Finley’s house to tell her the news. “Hey,” she said when Finley opened the door. She took deep breaths, winded from running over. “We’re doing a movie night! Can you come?”

As Finley ran inside to ask her parents, Noelle started to think about what kind of snacks they could have and what movie they should watch.

The following Saturday, Noelle’s dad put up a huge blow-up projector screen on the street in between their house and Finley’s house. As the sun dropped further to the horizon and darkness and mosquitoes crept in, kids and adults propped up striped lawn chairs and brought popcorn and chocolates to share.

There are a number of times in the Bible where we are reminded to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. That doesn’t just include our “neighbor” next to us in class or the person who sits in the bus seat across from us—it also includes our literal, next-door neighbors. There are all kinds of ways you can show love to them—whether it’s inviting them over, watching their pets, or just talking with them whenever you see them. Through positive relationships in our neighborhood, we can demonstrate the love of Christ and gain new friends.

Things to Think About

• Do you have neighbors who are friends? Why or why not?
• Who in your neighborhood might be in need of a friend?

DAILY ACT OF FRIENDSHIP

Come up with a list of fun ways for you or your family to bless or include your neighbors.