Engaging Our Community

Throughout my life I have had a lot of different neighbors. When I was 8, my family's neighbors had a cat. We would watch the cat while they were away. One time we thought it had been run over by a car so we buried it in their back yard. Shortly after burying it we discovered their cat was still alive and we had just buried a stray in their yard. I'm sure that was an interesting conversation for my dad.
When I was 12 or 13 I would play sports and get into fights with the other boys in my neighborhood. We didn't fight because we were upset. We were just boys who like breaking things. I remember another neighbor I had at that age. I would go over and feed her dogs sometimes. In the winter we would go over to her house to make sure she was alright. My parents told me that it was the right thing to do, and that she appreciated the company. I thought that her house smelt weird.
Neighborhoods are an interesting aspect of society though. You move to an area and after that, you really can't choose your neighbors. Still if the neighbor comes over and asks for a cup of sugar or a couple eggs, you will generally share what you have. In most neighborhoods you also have cookouts or barbecues where everybody gets together for a warm summer evening. It is a community that develops based on location. Some people might stray away from that, but most tend to be pretty good neighbors.
As we spend time about engaging our community around us, it is fun to think back about my old neighbors. You get to be a part of something and enjoy getting to know others too. We get so busy now though, that it might be hard to catch your neighbor at home to ask for a cup of sugar.

It is important to share the awesome love of Jesus with those around us. We are supposed to share it through compassion and service. Maybe that means scheduling time to get to know our neighbors better. It definitely means connecting with them and investing in them. How we are going to do that is left up to us.