Who is My Neighbor?
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:25-29
Milkweed Assassin
In its nymph stage, the milkweed assassin bug has a vivid, orange body with black antennae and slender, jointed legs. The other day, I noticed an assemblage of these creatures prowling on my viburnum leaves. I’m a novice gardener, and my first reaction was concern. What harm might these insects inflict on my garden?
Friendly neighbor or Alien Invader
Once I became aware that I was sharing space with these creatures, I had several possible options. I might decide they are unwanted intruders and try to evict them. I might be so terrified by their presence, I avoid the garden or tear it out. I might ignore them altogether. I might try aggressively to befriend them and likely get stung in the process.
who’s Garden Is it?
Or, I could stop for a minute and re-center the Creator. I could remember the garden is God’s. I am His servant, placed here as a steward.
I could ask with awe and wonder, ‘What good, pleasing, and perfect design does God have in mind by placing me and the milkweed assassin as neighbors in His garden?’
Becoming Neighborly
A bit of research and observation showed me something I hadn’t expected. Besides having a rad name, the milkweed assassin is also a highly beneficial garden bug. Like the dragonfly and ladybug, it is an efficient predator that consumes multitudes of aphids and mosquitoes. Whereas a colony of aphids can quickly destroy a plant by sucking out its sap, the milkweed assassin doesn’t harm plants in the least.
It occurs to me that before I became aware of my milkweed assassin neighbors, we were already influencing each other’s lives through God’s gracious plan.
Unbeknownst to me, as I was building a garden for my own enjoyment, I was also helping to build a nice neighborhood for the assassins – cool, shady homes and a plentiful food supply. Meanwhile, by feeding themselves, milkweed assassins were helping by preventing the garden from being decimated by an exploding aphid population.
What’s different now is awareness, a choice between fear and curiosity, and a likelihood that choice will influence future decisions that might help or harm these neighbors.
We know that God didn’t give us a pass to love only those that are helpful and desirable to us. In Mathew, Jesus commanded his followers to love our enemies and do good to those that hate us. In fact, this is how others should be able to identify us…by our love.
Still, sometimes loving our neighbor brings unexpected joys.
Today, as I am writing this, I caught a glimpse of one of those bright orange beauties on the viburnum growing just outside my kitchen window. I am delighted. It’s a new joy to be able to offer them a bit of housekeeping to keep their home shrub healthy and comfortable. And, I can now appreciate the work they are doing to keep the insect population balanced in the garden.
I would even say, I love this strange neighbor of mine.
What does it mean to Love My Neighbor
The command “love your neighbor as yourself” is recorded in Leviticus 19 and comes with some additional guidance about what it means to love your neighbor.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD. You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
Curious to explore further? Here are some ideas to consider.
- Take a walk near where you live, go to school, work, or play. Ask God to give you eyes to see a neighbor, human or otherwise, that is unfamiliar to you.
- Invest a little energy into respectfully learning what this neighbor might want to share about themselves. Where do they live? How do they spend their time? What foods do they love? In what ways are they thriving? In what ways are they struggling?
- Ask God to give you a heart to love this neighbor and to show you how.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.