Who is my neighbor?

"Who is my neighbor," is an age old question and probably has many answers, but basically it is anyone you come into contact with. 

We have been living in our Motorhome full time for the past few weeks and for the most part enjoying it. The spot we have been in has been surrounded by two families with a combination of 6 or 7 smaller children. Melody and our little dog, Chewy, have made a great impression on them (I guess it's the grandmother coming out). Yesterday we moved from that spot to another location in the RV park. As we were packing up and getting ready to move one of the little boys came up to me and ask, "Hey Neighbor, what are  you doing?" After we finished up packing all of them gathered around and hugged Melody, petted the dog and posed for pictures and two of the little boys picked flowers (budding weeds) and gave them to Melody. Definitely the grandmother coming out!

As I thought about that incident I thought about the few words from that little boy, "Hey Neighbor…" We both had talked with them and their parents, (nice folks struggling with different problems). What did we do to earn the title, "Neighbor"? Is it as simple as being nice, listening to small boys tell you about the birds they saw? Could it be as simple as spending time talking with a mother with several small children and giving her some "adult" time? Is it as simple as letting the father tell you a little about his day and his work? Perhaps it is….

Jesus was asked in Luke 10 "who is my neighbor" and he told a story about a Samaritan, ever heard it. It is a story of a man who went to extremes to assure the needs of another were met; it was all about giving what was needed at the time. I would say that it is not always about money or things. Sometimes people just need other people to care enough to stop and listen for a few minutes and show that you care.

Who is your neighbor?

Russ Lawson