Our neighborhood

By CHERYL CRUCE

Waking up in the early morning for a sip of coffee on the back porch and the singing of the birds used to be a great pleasure. I still enjoy the back porch and the cup of coffee, but the birds have been replaced by the tap, tap, tap of a hammer as more houses are built around us. I must admit I am drawn more to the woodland areas than I am to asphalt. Yet, here I am with more neighbors than I will ever be able to know.
The neighborhood of my youth had five houses with acreage between each for baseball, football, hide-and-seek, or tag. We would run out of our pent-up energy in the evening after school. Sometimes, we would find a tree to climb or ride our bicycles to the corner store. When the evening sun began setting, we would hurry home for supper and homework.
Life was slower then; families had time to get to know each other. Parents looked out for all of the children. It was a neighborly thing to share from household abundance, like freshly gathered eggs or a pail of fresh milk collected from the cow. Sometimes, the neighbor would leave the cream on top for Mom to use in her morning coffee. Mom often sent out a pan of her fresh-baked biscuits as a thank-you for the cream.
Now I see houses on lots, and I wonder, where do the children play?
Rec parks have replaced the neighborhood baseball games. Milk is purchased from the local store; it is good, but it will never compare to the taste of a fresh pail with the cream on top. The cost of progress is this quickly changing world around us, which is the void of open fields. However, despite the change, the definition of a good neighbor remains the same.
Jesus teaches in the scripture that a man was beaten, robbed, and left to die on the side of the road. A Jewish Priest and a Levite walked past this man without assisting him. Later, a Samaritan saw the man and was filled with compassion. He dressed the man’s wounds and found him lodging until he was well again. After telling this story, Jesus asked, “Who was the good neighbor?”
Scripture teaches us that a good neighbor does not seek after personal benefit but the good of others, encouraging one another and building each other up (1 Corinthians 10:24 & Thessalonians 5:11). A neighbor loves without hesitation or judgment; a neighbor loves as Jesus loves, unconditionally and compassionately (John 15:12). Loving in this manner will find a way to bring neighborhoods together regardless of all the houses built on the city block.
Maybe the word neighborhood puts the definition of neighbor in the proverbial box.
A neighbor lives in the house across the street. They are also sitting beside us at the rec park or on the same aisle in the grocery store. When we understand this definition, the proverbial box will be removed, and our neighborhood will become the world around us.
We will become kindhearted people who render aid where needed and reach beyond social boundaries. We will become who God has created us to be, walking in the image of Christ, our Lord.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 NIV

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.