Third Stop: The Neighbor's House. Population: Everyone

     Before we lost our house it was the place to be during the summer - at least for all the neighborhood kids. We had a three lane slip-n-slide as well as a Banzai skimboard surfer slip-n-slide that you took a run up and jumped on this little board and tried (though rarely successfully) to stay on your feet down the length of the slide. I cooked out every afternoon. During sudden rain showers we would all gather on the porch and I'd pass out little cups of ice cream, the kind with the wooden spoons. Evenings were filled with flashlight hide and seek and sparklers. We had some epic Nerf battles and plenty of grade school drama. It was a nice neighborhood and everyone got on well together, for the most part. Here in the complex we don't really know most of our neighbors. There was a murder soon after we moved in, and then another, so we keep to ourselves. Who are your neighbors? Do you host dinner parties for them? Have backyard barbecues, feel comfortable running over for a cup of sugar? Maybe you don't know them very well, maybe you just wave when you see each other but couldn't place them if you met up at the grocery store.

     Jesus instructed us in Mark 12:31 to love our neighbors as ourselves. And He didn't just mean the guy across the street that doesn't close his robe when he goes out for his morning paper. Or the sweet old lady down the block that always has a wave and a smile. He meant everyone. Everyone is our neighbor. Every. Single. Person. And we are supposed to love them. And yet, the world is full of hate. We hate each other over something as ridiculous as skin color, we fight each other over cultural choices, we despise each other over financial status, we fling hate at each other over sexual orientation. And everyone has a reason, some foundation for their hate that they feel is absolutely justifiable. But hate is wrong, always.Sometimes, as we are not perfect, we can't always help it. I'll freely admit that I hate my ex-husband. It is something I'm working on, but I'm so very much not there yet. People hurt us, or they hurt someone we love, they do something truly evil and we hate them for it. It's something to work on. But when you pick and choose bits of the bible to support your hate and attempt to make it acceptable, I have to draw the line. I have absolutely no idea how many times Jesus admonished us to love each other, but He said it a lot. In fact, love was kind of his theme: 'Love me, love God, love your enemies, love everyone'. And He didn't just say it, He showed it. Time and again Jesus taught by example. In Luke 14:13-14 Jesus tells us to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, to our banquet. Well, you can just substitute any word for banquet because He means to include them, to treat them equally. And then in Luke 15: 1-2, He does just that. Jesus is hanging out with tax collectors and other "sinners". Jesus is teaching them, speaking with them, treating them as equals, as He instructed us to do ourselves. Jesus never saw poor people dressed in dirty rags, He saw brothers and sisters, children of God. Think about that. Whenever I get really negative about my ex-husband, I remind myself of that - he is a child of God. We all are. God made each of us, God LOVES EACH OF US. So when we exclude others, when we look down at others, we are doing that to someone God loves. Imagine someone treating a child of yours that way! And I don't care what "sin" YOU feel they committed. That isn't up to you to decide or judge. Jesus was very clear: love one another. In Matthew 5: 43-47 Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Be kind to them. Don't just love the people that love you, don't just be kind to those that are kind to you. Love everyone, be kind to everyone. Seriously, I've got to go through the New Testament and count how many times He tells us this.
     Lately the news has been filled with hate for the poor and homeless and most of that hate is coming from "Christians". That absolutely baffles me! With so many clear admonishes to love everyone, how exactly are we justifying so much hate? I am continually shocked at the vitriol directed toward the homeless. Why? When my children and I were homeless we met a lot of lovely people in the same situation. They weren't on drugs, they weren't sitting around being lazy while trying to take your hard earned money. They were regular people, hard workers, most of them homeless because they had been hit with a medical condition that drained their finances, left them struggling. What is their sin, exactly? I am reminded of a news article about a wealthy community that called the police because they thought a homeless person was sleeping on a bench in front of their church. Turns out it was a statue of Jesus that had been donated. But those church goers were horrified at the thought that some "street person" might be hanging out by their church. They weren't moved with compassion to help this person, they wanted to banish him. I have a feeling Jesus was not in attendance at their service, He was clearly not invited.
     I get it, I really do. That whole "love everyone" thing is a lot harder than Jesus made it seem. I mean, He's the son of God. He's love and light. He looked at the people around Him with only hope and compassion. We struggle with loving ourselves, even with loving the people that love us, so of course we struggle with loving people that are different than us. But make no mistake, that is our assignment. That is the whole meaning of life, in case you've been wondering about that: Love God and love each other. And when you give it a little thought, it really is that simple. The next time you feel like being unkind, losing your patience, making a snarky comment, remember that the object of your hate is a child of God, wholly and completely loved by our Creator, and your brother or sister in this family of God's. And then. . . choose love.