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When our clothes dryer broke down, we had to take our laundry to a Laundromat until a replacement for the broken part arrived at the repair shop. On one such occasion, we were pulling out of our parking space with our freshly dried laundry when a man near another car several spaces away waved at us and pointed to the back of our car.

When I rolled down the window, the stranger said, “Your back right tire is nearly flat! You may be able to make it to a gas station, but you need to drive carefully.”

We thanked him and remembered that a tire store was just two blocks away. 

Although that man didn’t physically minister to us, as the Good Samaritan did in Luke 10:25-37, his observant eye saved us great difficulty that day. It’s unlikely that we will ever encounter that particular man again no matter how many times we visit that neighborhood laundry facility. Therefore, he was not a “neighbor” in the sense of one that lived near us. Still, his kindness in alerting us of our nearly flat tire brought home the understanding that we don’t have to live near someone in order to be a good “neighbor”. Merely by sharing our observations - as that man did - by speaking kind words, holding a door open for someone loaded with packages or reaching for an item for someone that is not tall enough to pull it off a grocery shelf, we can be a good neighbor. We don’t have to know a person in order to exhibit neighborliness. Our actions can show God’s love and brighten the day for someone that is having difficulty or is feeling emotionally wounded.
 

PRAYER: Encouraging Lord, thank You for providing me with an observant eye with which I can assist others. Please give me the courage to speak to people that I may not know in order to keep them from danger. In the name of Jesus, amen.
 

         BIBLE VERSES MENTIONED IN THIS POSTING:

1 Corinthians 16:4 (NIV) - Do everything in love.

Luke 10:25-37 (NIV) – 25) On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26) “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27) He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as your self.” 28) “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29) But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30) In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31) A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32) So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33) But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34) He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35) The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36) “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”  37) The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”