Good day dear friends.
Luke 10:29: "And who is my neighbor?"
If you were designing a new home for yourself and family, would you choose a front porch or a rear deck? Think long and hard about that. Have you seen a new home being built with a front porch? When we lived in San Antonio, we loved to go to the Parade of Homes. The event is to showcase new homes being built in neighborhoods that we'll call "pricey." One of those years, one of the homes had a porch that went around the three sides of the house, and we thought it was the most interesting of all the homes on the parade that year. It said a lot about who might have built the home and would say a lot about who would buy it.
A front porch brings back memories of a different time. People wanted to see and interact with other people. Why did we shift from that to a time now where we have peep holes and some say, "Who is it?" to "What in the world do they want?" or even "Shhh! Be quiet, they might think we're not home!" Hmm. In many ways the attitude of our country has changed as well. At one time we were the rich neighbor with the open door policy to all. Why, we even have a statue in New York that has something that is not read much or followed much any more. We've become the neighbor of the rear deck. We're home, but we're entertaining ourselves, being outside we can't hear the doorbell.
A front porch brings back memories of a different time. People wanted to see and interact with other people. Why did we shift from that to a time now where we have peep holes and some say, "Who is it?" to "What in the world do they want?" or even "Shhh! Be quiet, they might think we're not home!" Hmm. In many ways the attitude of our country has changed as well. At one time we were the rich neighbor with the open door policy to all. Why, we even have a statue in New York that has something that is not read much or followed much any more. We've become the neighbor of the rear deck. We're home, but we're entertaining ourselves, being outside we can't hear the doorbell.
Is that reflected in our churches as well? Is that the role of our ushers and greeters? I believe that the church has become our "front porch" in many ways, and God's call to us is to keep it like the front porch of old: Make everyone feel welcome, call out to people, ask how they're doing, find out ways to be neighborly, and help out when needed.
PRAYER: Lord, when you answered that question to the rich young ruler, you shared a story of compassion between a nonJew and a Jew. That neighbor went out of his way to care for someone that normally might have gone out of his way to avoid him or even hurt him. Lord, help me today not turn away but turn towards my neighbor. He may not look like me. She may not speak like me, but they are my neighbor. I pray this in Your Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
