My neighbor is the one next door, the one across the street, the one whose dog poops in my yard, the one who does not have a dog. He or she is the one who is black, the one who is white, brown, yellow, or red. He or she is the one who I like, who I don’t like, the one who loves me or the one who hates me. My neighbor is the one who is a Republican, the one who is a Democrat, the one who is in favor of the health care reform, and the one who is against. My neighbor is the one who does go to church, and the one who hates it.

However, here is the truth about me on all of this: I have no problem in honestly identifying my neighbor (you can see that on the paragraph above). My real problem is loving him or her. Boy, that is the real challenge! For years the verse of scripture that has challenged me more than any other is I John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”