“The entire law is summed up in a
single command: “Love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
“Wow, Mom. Looks like someone left a special “gift”
for you on the porch,” my daughter exclaimed as she left for work. “Special”
was not the word I would have used as I looked at the heap of dog poop that was
piled up on the welcome mat at my door.
We followed the
trail of remnants of the “gift” and saw it went down my drive and across the
street into the yard of . . . my neighbor.
It had started a
year before when she and her family had moved across the road from me in the
country and her very large unfriendly dog began roaming the neighborhood,
chasing cattle and neighbors in a 2 mile radius. He especially disliked me and sensing
my fear, would sit in my yard and wait for me to open my door.
If I walked
outside, it would follow me, bumping me with its nose and growling. I began
driving my car to the mailbox just a few yards from my house and decided
against future neighborhood walks. I
tried to ignore the situation until the day the dog chased my daughter and cornered
her on my back deck.
I called my
neighbor, explaining what had happened but received no sympathy. “You
are doing something to make him not like you,” she replied. “It’s your problem,
not mine. Dogs are supposed to run loose in the country and that’s what mine is
going to do.”
I hung up the
phone, crying. And prayed. Well, sort of.
I admit my
prayers were more like “Make her move, Lord” to “Help the dog to get lost and
never come back.” But my heart – and my prayers – slowly began to change as I
realized that for her to be so bitter and angry, she must be hurting inside for
some reason that had nothing to do with me.
After several weeks
of being fearful that either I or a member of my family would be attacked and
bitten, I received a phone call. “Someone convinced your neighbor to give her
dog away this evening,” the man said. “I know you have had a lot of problems.
We all have. Hopefully this will take care of it.” Thank you, Lord!
Then the next
morning, I was the recipient of the “gift” outside my front door.
Have you been
there? The neighbor who will never be neighborly? Every attempt you make to be
friendly is dropkicked into next Tuesday? Kindness met with contempt? I do
understand.
And yet, God
tells me that I am to love my neighbor, no matter what. No conditions like “as
long as she loves me” or “until she does something I don’t like.” And He doesn’t suggest that I love
her; He commands that I do.
Just as my
neighbor’s actions had to do with her heart, MY reaction to what she was doing
had to do with mine. And I needed to be like Jesus – no matter the outcome.
The relationship
with my neighbor never improved. She and her family moved away a few months
after that incident.
But I learned an
important lesson from the Lord: love your neighbor and pray for your neighbor,
no matter what. Even when there is poop on your welcome mat.
Father, please help me to love my neighbor
and to see her through your eyes of love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
- Have you ever lived by a neighbor like the one in today’s devotion?
- When situations became tough, what was your first response – compassion and kindness or glares and harsh comments? Did you pray?
Application
- Journal today’s power verses and the names of your neighbors and pray for them.
- If you find yourself having issues with a neighbor, go back to your journal and remind yourself of the love Jesus wants you to have for her.
Power Verses
- Galatians 5:14 (NIV) “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Romans 13:10 (NIV) “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
- Mark 12:31 (NIV) “. . . Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
- Matthew 7:12 (NIV) “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
- Luke 6:27 (NIV) “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
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