Loving Neighbors Near And Far: A 5-Day PlanSample

Yesterday we learned that Jesus wants us to show love not only to people who are like us but those who are different. Today we’ll learn that those differences might not be as big as you think.

God made people in all shapes and sizes, with different color skin, hair, and eyes. He gave us different hometowns and families, different interests and abilities, different tastes and preferences. Not even twins are exactly the same in every way. All these differences are beautiful, like all the colors in a sunset or flavors of fruit. They show God’s creativity and sense of fun. Each of us is unique, and God loves us all.

With all our differences, every human being has something very important in common—we were all made in the image of God. That doesn’t mean that our bodies look like God—after all, he doesn’t have a physical body—but he shows himself through us and works through us in different ways.

A girl who was born on the other side of the world from you feels happy sometimes and sad sometimes, just like you. A boy whose skin, eyes and hair are different colors than yours loves his family and his pets, just like you. Like you, those children are made in God’s image, and God loves them. That’s why God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, or to put it another way, to think of others as being just as important as us.

Back in Bible times, the apostle Paul told church members that instead of letting their differences divide them, they should focus on their most important similarity—they were all followers of Christ. When you feel awkward or nervous about making friends with someone who is different, remember that you are both made in God’s image, that God loves you both, and that God wants you to show love to each other.

Talk together: Is it hard for you to make friends with people who you think are very different from you? What makes it so hard? Let’s pray together that God will help us to love people that are different and remember that we are all made in God’s image.