“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 from my porch, 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 huge 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.” I immediately prayed “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 this devotion?
When the situation became tough, what was your first response – compassion and kindness or glares and harsh comments? Did you pray?
Apply
Journal the 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
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.”
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