Love Your NeighborSample

Meeting Needs

When you choose to start loving your neighbors, you’ll start seeing needs all around you. You might see your elderly neighbor’s trash can sitting at the curb long after the trash has been picked up, or someone having car troubles on the side of the road, or someone experiencing homelessness in your community. Seeing all of these needs can feel overwhelming and discouraging, making it difficult to know where to start.

As you consider your role in caring for your neighbors, remember that your goal isn’t to solve everyone’s problems. Instead, your goal is to reflect the love of Jesus to the people around you.

In Acts 3, Peter and John encountered a man who had been disabled since birth. Individuals who were disabled or sick were often cast out of the main city and considered “less than.” It’s likely this man had spent his entire life in poverty, experiencing unfair judgment by the community around him.

The man would sit outside the temple gate begging as people walked by. Scripture tells us he called out to Peter and John, asking for money. Peter and John stopped, telling the man to look at them. When he looked, he expected to receive money.

Instead, Peter took the man’s hand, pulled him to his feet, and the man was healed. He walked into the temple jumping, singing, and praising Jesus for his healing miracle. The people in the temple recognized him and were amazed.

Peter and John didn’t stress over trying to solve the problems of every person in their community. Instead, they paid attention to their surroundings, saw a man in need of help, and followed God’s prompting to meet the man where he was.

When it comes to meeting the needs of our neighbors, our approach can be similar. Rather than trying to fix everyone and everything, we can pay attention to the people around us, look them in the eye, and listen to what they need. Following this smaller-scale approach will enable us to share Jesus’ love with others through our words and actions.

Consider: Is there someone you see on a regular basis who has a need you could meet? How could you do something about that today or this week?