Love Thy Neighbour

Start close to home — the person sitting alone at church, a neighbor no one checks on, someone carrying something in silence. You don’t need a program to begin. You need attention.

It helps to remember that love here is a verb, not a feeling. It can be felt warmly, but at its core it’s something you do. A simple question makes it practical, whether with a stranger or someone you’ve loved for years: how can I best love you in this moment? Then do that.

Love as far as your heart can reach, and keep stretching it. Some seasons, all you can manage is to stay close to God and get through the day, and that’s alright — looking after the life He gave you isn’t selfish; “love your neighbour as yourself” takes it for granted. But keep growing your love outward: to the people around you, to the ones you find difficult, and, in time, even to those who have wronged you.

And notice where fear lives in you. Wherever you find yourself afraid of someone, there is usually a place where love has room to grow.

Opening your home is part of this too. It doesn’t take a large house or an impressive meal — just willingness. A table, a conversation, a door that opens. Begin with fellow believers, and let your sense of who to welcome grow as your faith does.

As you grow, look for people and communities who’ve walked the specific struggle someone else is facing — addiction, loneliness, a broken marriage, whatever it is — and can walk alongside them with real understanding. We’re building a directory of vetted communities for exactly this. It isn’t ready yet, but it’s coming.

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A directory of vetted communities — for the specific struggles a neighbour may be walking through — will appear here as we build it.

We’re always looking for more ways to help people love their neighbour well. If you know a vetted community doing good work in this space, let us know.