Regardless of the size of your community, your testimony and love for your community impacts your ministry to them. If you are a Christ-follower, very few things in life are more important than loving your community (Matthew 22:36-42; John 13:35). So how can you demonstrate love to your community?
- Be authentic. You first love and live like Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2). Jesus serves as an excellent example of living consistent with what you say you believe. He lived and loved well. This should be true for every follower of Christ. Doing some volunteer work recently, a man described his neighborhood to me. In his description, he called one of his neighbors the “Christian neighbors” – as a compliment! He recognized that living in his neighborhood was better since this Christian family had moved into the nearby house. This is the way it should be for every Christ-follower.
- Be positive. We live in a world where every day we can say, “This is the day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). If God is the maker of this day, I should embrace it and be grateful for it. Sometimes people talk about seeing the cup half-full or half-empty. For the Christian, it should be half-full. For example, regardless of today’s weather, if I receive it as a gift from God, then I can be positive about it. We can meet each new day with joy in spite of the pressures in it (James 1:2-4). Instead of being negative, I can look for the opportunities to serve others even in a pressure-filled circumstance (Romans 12-13).
- Be kind. Life is hard. Days are filled with difficulties. Many people would benefit from something as simple as a smile. Your smile or act of kindness may be the ray of hope needed in an otherwise overwhelmingly cloudy day. You never know what someone is facing, has been through, or is currently fighting. Just one person can make a difference in the whole trajectory of another person’s life – possibly even significant enough to change them forever. Paul wrote to all Christians, “Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
- Be sensitive. Where are people hurting? Where do you see suffering? Where are people going through difficulties that you can provide some form of help or assistance? Would a glass of water in Jesus’ name benefit another person? Look for these opportunities and seek to make a difference in another person’s life.
- Be active. Volunteer. Attend games to cheer for your community team. Build into a child’s life through coaching or mentoring. There are churches, nonprofits, and community organizations in every community who need help. For good ideas, contact your local school district for ways to serve families in your community.
Benefits from loving your community
- Your community is better. As you love your community, everyone around you will be better. They will be encouraged by your sensitivity and desire to show genuine love. Plus, they also will be served by your acts of kindness. In addition, your community will be a more positive place. All of these are great benefits of your loving your community.
- You are happier. You will receive joy through choosing to honor Christ in your life; this is true satisfaction. Additionally, it will bring you further satisfaction when you see others who benefit from your efforts. When you do what is right and think what is right, then your emotions are influenced in positive ways. When you add everything together, you are a happier person.
- Christ is honored.When you have been motivated by Christ’s love and a desire to obey God, Christ is honored. Although it is easy to live life primarily in regard to self, you learn God’s best is to love Him and others more. After hearing what is best, you obey. The Bible refers to those who hear what God desires and does it as wise. As a wise person motivated by the love of Christ and desiring obedience, Christ is honored.
- Christ is shared.Those in your community see how the love of Christ is shared to them through you. They wonder and ask how you are different. You get to share the difference Christ has made in your life personally. In the process, the love of Christ that you live is shared with those you love.
What about you? Are you ready to love your community better? Will you join me? My prediction is this: if you make an effort to love your community, your love for your community will grow as well.
See my full article, “Do you love your community?” from August 2014.