{"id":7019,"date":"2019-08-27T12:04:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T17:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=7019"},"modified":"2019-08-27T12:04:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T17:04:13","slug":"being-a-better-neighbor-starts-by-noticing-your-neighbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2019\/08\/being-a-better-neighbor-starts-by-noticing-your-neighbor\/","title":{"rendered":"Being a Better Neighbor Starts By Noticing Your Neighbor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most of us are familiar with the account of Jesus and the young man commonly known as the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-25). This young man approached Jesus, asking him what was necessary for him to obtain eternal life. In the midst of Jesus\u2019 answer, the young guy (possibly interrupting Jesus) said he had kept the Ten Commandments since his childhood. It is possible\u2014and I believe likely\u2014that he was a bit arrogant with his reply; the text says he was trying to \u201cjustify himself.\u201d
\nAt this point in the narrative, Mark writes, \u201cThen Jesus beholding him loved him\u201d (kjv, emphasis added). The Greek word for \u201cbeholding\u201d speaks of the study of the constellations; it means something much deeper than to simply notice or glance at. Thayer\u2019s lexicon defines it:<\/p>\n

Beholding<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. to have (the power of) understanding<\/li>\n
  2. to discern mentally, observe, perceive, discover, understand<\/li>\n
  3. to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, contemplate, to look at, to weigh carefully, examine<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Before We Love, We Must Notice<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    To \u201cbehold\u201d is to intensely consider or give mind to something or someone. The text doesn\u2019t say Jesus loved the young man and then beheld him. It flips the sequence. Although Jesus certainly loved the guy before he showed up, Mark is emphasizing that Jesus\u2019 intentional consideration of the young man tapped into the love Jesus had for him.
    \nJust last night my wife and I sat in our second-story library, enjoying a glass of wine and music. She was looking across the street toward the home of our neighbor Jess. Last weekend his wife, Linda, passed away after suffering the last few years from Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Tears welled up in Sherri\u2019s eyes. \u201cI\u2019ve been staring at the lights in Jess\u2019s living room. He\u2019s in there\u2014alone. I can\u2019t imagine how it must be for him.\u201d Sherri was beholding Jess. She was also planning how we could reach out to him.
    \nMost often beholding comes before compassion. It is not that we are not compassionate people, but we often are not moved with compassion because we don\u2019t \u201cbehold\u201d others. Consider the following passages (from the kjv, with emphasis added) that include the phrase \u201cmoved with compassion\u201d:
    \nBut when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
    \nMatthew 9:36
    \nAnd Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
    \nMatthew 14:14
    \nThe pace of our lives and consumer agendas greatly cloud our ability to behold others. Recently my wife and I were walking through downtown San Louis Obispo. As we approached a street corner, on our right we both saw a young man\u2014probably in his mid-twenties\u2014who obviously was living on the street. He scurried to a trashcan and grabbed a Starbucks cup that was sitting on top of it and quickly drank what was left in the cup. He then began rummaging through the rubbish in search of scrap food to eat.<\/p>\n

    To Love Our Neighbors, We Must First See Our Neighbors<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    In my hand was a container of leftover dessert from a fine meal we had just enjoyed. I quickly handed it to him and pulled out the meager three dollars in cash I had with me. What caught both Sherri and me off guard, though, were his eyes. They were filled with desperation and despair. We come across people begging on the streets just about everywhere we go, and we frequently give to such folks. This young man was not even begging. We beheld the young man and have been held by his eyes ever since. I am reminded here of the words of Frederick Buechner:
    \nIf we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors.\u00a0With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in.[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

    There Is No Such Thing as Debt-Free Living for a Christian<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    I\u2019m enough of a knucklehead that often I need the plainest of translations or paraphrases to get what the Scriptures are trying to say. I love Eugene Peterson\u2019s take on Romans 13:8\u2014\u201dDon\u2019t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along.\u201d\u00a0There is no such thing as debt-free living for a Christian. I owe you love right now. I can show you love this very second, but a minute from now, I will still owe you love.
    \nAuthor Mike Mason writes, \u201cEvery person we meet is God\u2019s representative to us, looking to collect His dues. Are we paying up? Are we paying \u2018the continuing debt of love\u2019 .\u00a0.\u00a0. or do we treat God\u2019s people with the civilized equivalent of killing and beating: ignoring them, isolating ourselves, sitting in silent judgment, and rationalizing lovelessness?\u201d    [ii]<\/a> Getting to know our neighbors, the employees and frequent fellow customers at our favorite coffee shop, gym, or pizza parlor comes part and parcel with the call of God on our lives to love our neighbor as ourselves. Loving starts with knowing, and knowing starts with getting to know.
    \nWhen my wife and I moved into our current neighborhood the man who lived in the house behind ours was described by other neighbors as crazy and unfriendly. His house was unkempt and in extreme disrepair. And \u201cCrazy Dan\u201d was just as broken-down-looking as his home. We approached Dan, and after having him for meals in our home, my wife and I agreed he wasn\u2019t crazy. He certainly wasn\u2019t unfriendly. In fact, he was a really fun and wise person. A retired university professor, he was just lonely and a bit eccentric. But the labels others had put upon him served to push him into the recesses of the community. The \u201ccrazy\u201d label became a category that cut him off from the life of the neighborhood. The definitions not only denied Dan the interaction he needed but also the gift he could be to the community.
    \nA few months after Dan had to move to an assisted living complex, I ran into a couple who had been caring for his yard for several years. They told me a story that most of our neighbors would have been astounded to learn. When this couple first met Dan, they were homeless. They began doing odd jobs for him, and for almost two years Dan paid the rent on a home for them until they were back on their feet. Not only was Dan not crazy, he had a huge heart for others. Who would have known? Just the ones who took the time and effort to get to know.<\/p>\n

    Reflection<\/h3>\n