What if you have no neighbors?

After I became a Christian when I was 22 years old I was submerged into a church youth ministry as a leader. We attended numerous camps, devotional weekends, domestic mission trips, and sermon boosters. As I was, in some cases, as spiritually mature as the youth I found myself soaking up the morsels of Truth thrown their way at these events.

There was a common theme among the talks given to the youth- including from my own mouth. It was to love your neighbor as yourself. This specific phrase is mentioned numerous times in the Bible as spoken by Jesus Christ, himself. (Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:7, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8)

The citing in Romans actually says, "The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
It is clear that loving others is a central message of the Gospel. This sparks the question for me, then, "What if you have no neighbors?"

Maybe you're thinking, "Everyone has neighbors." I suppose you may be right about that in the literal sense. I'd like to challenge the common definition of neighbor. Dictionary.com gives this definition:
neigh·bor ( P ) (nbr)n.

• One who lives near or next to another.
  
• A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another.
  
• A fellow human.
  
• Used as a form of familiar address.

The third definition down is the one I'm most interested in- "A fellow human." Here is the version of neighbor that I believe Jesus was talking about when he commanded us to love our neighbors. If this is the chosen interpretation then you can see how someone might not have any neighbors-figurativelyy speaking.

Have you ever known someone that has very few friends and contacts? Maybe it is someone that "knows" people, but doesn't actually know them. Who are your neighbors? Do you see your co-workers, boss, gardner, mailman, checker at the store, and even the homeless woman on the street as your neighbor?

If a neighbor is a fellow human being, which I believe it is, then all of these people are our neighbors. If that is true, then I am called to love them as I love myself. At this point you may be thinking, "Of course! I'm nice to the checker- I always make a point of asking him/her how they're doing- I even look them in the eye!" Is that how you love yourself? Most likely not. No person is lacking in affection for themselves. Even those individuals who are consumed with their imperfections are still highly focused on themselves. What would life look like if we were to pay attention to every person we pass in the same way we devote time to ourselves?

I'm not sure I could even say what that would like look. This morning on my way into work on the subway I found myself zoning out and almost dozing off I was so sleepy. There were dozens of people around me standing and sitting quiet ... all my neighbors.

If I live a completely isolated life apart from interaction with others I am not allowing Christ to live through me. At the risk of making someone else uncomfortable or being stared at like a freak... I'm determined to love my neighbors. I am determined to make more eye contact and beyond that -to speak to people as if they are my fellow humans. To really see people and love them as much as I adore myself. If I had even a portion of love for my neighbors as I have for my own flesh I think I might then, and only then, slightly begin to see the Cross more clearly.

Live boldly,
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