“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat-the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself is truly hidden”
(C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).
Your neighbor – in the car line,
the slow poke in front of you on a late morning
an unsaved brother
or school mate
the stranger in your neighborhood
the parent on your soccer team who
is really quiet
a political opposite
the friend inside your circle
the acquaintance whose circle you know
nothing of
the fella who lives seemingly all wrong
and the girl who lives seemingly too always right
the workplace neighbor
who doesn’t understand you
and the mother-in-law God gave you
the barista who makes your coffee
the server who spills
soup into your lap
the teacher who doesn’t understand
your child
alongside the one who does
the coach who doesn’t see
what you see
and the one who manages to inspire
beyond your child’s confidence
the easy and the
hard
your mother and father
the siblings
the “I do” man
for better for worse
in the good times and the hard hauls
through to the other side
and the children growing
and, yes, the pizza delivery man
alongside the driver of the
ice cream truck
all designed to be, next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor in the daily of your God-designed life, the holiest object presented to your senses!
“Jesus said, ‘The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these’” (Mark 12:31).
Love your neighbor means to love those God gives you through birth and marriage, those next door, around the block, along the daily by-ways, hallways, cow paths and concrete paths you set your feet on.
This intentional loving is not an instant thing, an over-night thing. Grasping how God loves is something we grow into, one love-choice step at a time.
It’s your choice, this loving – those you asked for and those you didn’t.
Grow it, nurture it – believe it!
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Terrific! I love the way you developed this.
Thank you, Andrew! Experience provides so much useful detail! LOL
Beautiful! A great quote that I’d not read before as well.
Beautifully written. Oh for grace to accomplish this directive.
This is such a beautiful picture of who our neighbor is. And so lovely written. Love it!
Now THIS is a whole new perspective on NEIGHBOR! Great post. I am your neighbor today at the raralinkup, I’m neighbor #106!
Maryleigh,
Love your list of all our potential neighbors…what a difference it would make if we could remember and practice this truth…love how you wrote it isn’t an instant thing…such a process of growth…thinking of you and our time in Nebraska with fondness 🙂
Yes, yes, and more yes! Love this so much for the beautiful way you tell it and especially for the meaning. If I can’t see God in my neighbor, I would miss so many beautiful sightings. Thank you for reminding us that it’s our choice, “this loving–those you asked for and those you didn’t.” Always encouraged when I visit here!
Inspiring words… Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful reflection of who our neighbor really is. I love that quote by C.S. Lewis – it really makes one stop and think about the way we interact with the people God brings across our path.
Blessings,
Kamea
Yes! I love this and am now sitting here thinking about all my neighbors. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.
WOW, what an incredible list of those we may be able to love and those we just don’t think we could ever…. God knows our hearts and He knows the love that He gives to us “first.”
I shall be pondering my “neighbors” and all the people around me.
love ’em all. love you.
Beautiful. Found you via #AfterMyCoffee link-up.
God commands us to love our neighbor…but as your say, it is a choice! I want to make that choice to love every single time!…even when it means loving the person whose views are opposite of mine, the person who takes but does not give, or the person who I’d really rather not know. Thank you for encouraging all of us to look at our neighbors through God’s eyes and not our own.
Love your perspective and heart!
[…] Source: the holiest object […]
Much food for thought here, Maryleigh. We could feast on this all week. An amazing, insightful quote from C.S Lewis (must read that book again!) and a wonderfully long, inclusive list of just who our neighbour is. Thank you! 🙂 x
I love the way you paint so many great word pictures of neighbors we all have. That is a lovely C.S. Lewis quote.
What a beautiful way to describe our neighbor. – the holiest object next to the Blessed Sacrament. May we treasure our neighbors and love them with all we have because sometimes we only get one chance. Blessed you shared this at The Weekend Brew.
This is lovely! I love the way you offer us so many images of what our neighbors look like. Thank you for linking with us at Grace & Truth!
[…] Love how Maryleigh explores the idea of neighbor in her post, read here. […]
Kudos and blessings to the sweet soul behind “Blue Cotton Memory.
Thank you, Kim! {{{HUGS}}}