Week 1 | Day 4 | “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

Command:

Love one another. John 15:17 (NIV)

Read:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV)

Reflect:

When I would come home from elementary school, I always looked forward to watching Mr. Rogers before I did my homework. In the opening of his show, I would always sing along with him to his “Won’t you be my neighbor?” As a child, his kind, gentle and loving words sincerely made me feel important as it felt like he was talking directly to me through that television screen. I honestly felt that my feelings really mattered to him.  

As an adult, I saw Mr. Rogers treating every person he came into contact with as an image bearer of God. He was ahead of his time in caring for the mental health needs of children in the 1960’s. Although he was an ordained Presbyterian minister, he never had to open scripture and tell kids God loves them. He did not need to. He exuded God’s love which made it real and visible for so many generations of children and their parents watching his show as we were his “neighbors.” 

Love is rooted in God. God is love. We love because God first loved us. When we love one another, we present God to the world. 

Mr. Rogers said it best from his 2001 commencement speech at Marquette University, “I believe that appreciation is a holy thing that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment we’re doing what God does all the time. So loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.” 

React:

Love for other people is very important as this love for God shows that God lives in us. How can we make God’s love visible in your life and in the lives of others?  

Pray:

Father, you call us your “Beloved.” Let us make your love visible and central in our lives and the lives we connect with in our everyday moments. Amen.