Remembering Our Neighbors

Remembering Our Neighbors

One of the constant themes throughout the Bible is God’s compassion for the poor, down-trodden, and oppressed. We can look to Christ and see how He models this in His earthly ministry. He is gentle, kind, and compassionate to these very people. He has no time for the idolatrous religious leaders of the day, yet to the weary and burdened He is kind. 

This time of year most of us will be wrapping up our Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, baking sweets, gathering with friends and family, and much more. There will be parties, festivities, and all manner of things to do. There is nothing wrong with these things at all. However, we must not let them so envelop us that we forget and neglect our neighbor. 

There are those in our community that will not have all of the good things that we might have this Christmas. There may even be those among our church that will not have these types of things. Not everyone has family to spend the holidays with. Not everyone gets invited to parties. Many times the elderly are overlooked, the poor neglected, and so on. We live in days where many people do not even know the people they live next to anymore. It is likely that some of us have neighbors who might spend this time of year alone. 

Christmas is an opportunity for Christ’s people to love their neighbors. A batch of cookies is a great way to go meet those in the neighborhood and talk to them. Even just an invitation to a Christmas party or dinner can go a long way. There are plenty of people that would welcome a hot meal during this time of the year. So as Christmas Day draws ever closer, leverage all that the season has to offer for Christ. Who knows if a simple act of kindness might open the door for you to tell someone about the loving kindness of Christ. Perhaps you will have the most memorable Christmas of all if you welcome someone in with open arms. Merry Christmas.

Grace be with you, 

C. R. Hamilton