Neighbors Near and Far

Bible Reading: Matthew 22:34-40; Hebrews 13:1-3

The moment the last bell rang, Jenny texted her mom to see if she could go get ice cream after school. Within seconds she had an answer. “Yay! I can go,” she told her best friend, Emma. “Mom will pick me up at four.”

At the ice cream shop, the cashier behind the counter struggled with their order. In broken English, she repeated their order very slowly. The girl wore a head scarf, and Jenny thought she was probably new to the country.

“No!” Emma said. “The strawberry sauce goes with vanilla, and hot fudge on the chocolate!” To Jenny, Emma whispered loudly, “Everyone knows that.”

The cashier winced, then turned to fill their orders. As they walked away with sundaes finally in hand, Jenny leaned over and told her friend, “I think she heard you.”

“So what?” said Emma. “She probably couldn’t understand me anyway.”

They joined their friends, but Jenny kept thinking. What if her family suddenly moved to another country? Her French phrases wouldn’t help much in Japan or Mexico. It would be hard!

At four o’clock, Jenny went outside and noticed that the cashier was waiting too. She was busy texting someone. Wow, she’s fast, thought Jenny as she watched the girl’s thumbs fly across the screen.

When Jenny’s mom pulled up, Jenny said a quick “I’m sorry” to the girl as she passed her to get into the car.

“What’s that about?” asked Mom. Jenny told her the whole story, including how fast she could text. “It was kind of you to apologize, even though you weren’t the one who said those things,” said Mom. “It’s interesting, isn’t it? In just a few seconds, you got permission to come here today. What if, in just a few seconds, the cashier told relatives in Somalia or Sudan that American girls are rude? What if she saw your cross bracelet and said that Christian girls are rude?”

Jenny thought about it. “Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ and with smartphones, the whole world is suddenly my neighbor!”

“And even though Jesus died for the whole world, many of them don’t know it,” Mom pointed out. “Which is why we need to be good neighbors to everyone and help spread His love around the world.” • Sonja Anderson

How About You?

Did you know that you have neighbors all over the world? Because Jesus died for all people, everyone on earth is our neighbor—and things like computers and smartphones make it possible to communicate our attitudes to more people than ever before. That’s why it’s important to show a loving attitude toward all people. You can help communicate God’s love to the whole world!

Today’s Key Verse:
Hebrews 13:3 [Remember] those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. (NIV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Love your neighborS—near and far