Who are My Neighbors?
Growing up in the Episcopal Church, I heard the following words every Sunday in a slightly different version from the Book of Common Prayer (the 1928 as well as the "new one"): Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” I knew my neighbor was everyone from the girl who sat across the aisle from me in school to the crabby, old man who lived at the end of the block. I failed at loving my neighbors frequently whether they were cousins, friends, or strangers. I dealt with whomever entered my life well or not well at all. As I matured, I noticed in some seasons of my life I was making strides loving my neighbor. Not giving myself a pat on the back here, trying to paint an honest picture of my walk with the Lord. Then low and behold, I experien...