Jesus is your next door neighbor

Day 25

Scripture

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Devotional

Merry Christmas!

Today’s scripture is taken from the Message Bible. I love the opening sentence, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus literally moved into the neighborhood. 

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if Jesus moved in to our neighborhood. I mean let’s be honest, if he did things now like he did then, we probably wouldn’t want him in our own neighborhood. He didn’t exactly follow all the rules.

In a world that was seeking revenge, he offered love and forgiveness. In a world dominated by money and power, he offered hope to the poor and powerless. 

He came to set the world free but had no military experience. He was here to give the oppressed a new life but didn’t know anything about fighting a battle. Jesus became flesh and moved into the neighborhood and here we are, celebrating that move.

It’s hard for us to imagine what that was like or what it would be like today. It’s hard for us to comprehend God in the flesh. I understand the idea of Christians being the hands and feet of Jesus but somehow that doesn’t seem to give me the real picture of Jesus moving into the neighborhood. 

What if we turned the tables just a little? Stay with me for just a few sentences more. What if we didn’t think of ourselves as being like Jesus (remember, stay with me)? What if we didn’t think about Jesus as the King, coming to set the world free (just a few more lines)? What if we didn’t think about Jesus moving into the neighborhood as the redeemer for all (ok, you’ve stuck it out long enough)?

Just for today, or maybe just for a few days. Maybe it will make a difference. Instead of seeing Jesus in the ways we mentioned above, what if Jesus was our neighbor? Now we don’t have to worry about trying to be a reflection of Jesus, since we fail anyway, now we can worry about treating our neighbor as though they are Jesus.

Would you do anything different if Jesus moved next door? Would you be more attentive to the people around you? Of course you would do things differently. Who wouldn’t? Want to give it a try? You don’t even have to try it today if you don’t want. It is Christmas after all. Tomorrow is a better day to try this. Can you imagine what it would be like if we all gave it a shot? Can you imagine what all of our neighbors would think?

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for becoming flesh and moving into the neighborhood. Help be act like you’re in our neighborhood. Help me treat my neighbor like I would treat you. Open my eyes to the miracle of Christmas, that is the miracle of you moving in. Help me be part of the miracle by acting like you moved in. Amen.

Challenge

You already know what it is…let’s act like it. 

Just kidding… we won’t leave you hanging with that recipe 😂 Here’s a fun breakfast idea for Christmas morning!