What if God moved in next door?
I’ve lived in the same house for many years, and had a variety of neighbours. When we moved in, an older couple lived in the attached unit to our townhouse, and I smiled and chatted with them until I learned he was a pedophile known by police. I clutched my two young daughters to me and breathed a sigh of relief when they moved.
Next, two young policemen moved in (the irony of that was not lost on me!) and then my friend, Joan. The family living there now consist on Dad and Mom, two kids and grandma, and English isn’t their first language. We share a love of gardening, and cross language and cultural barriers over petunias and begonias each year. “Where did you buy that topsoil? I like what you did with the annuals.” It’s pleasant. It’s what neighbours do.
But what if God moved in next door?
Do you know He wants to?
Lev. 26:11,12 says, “I’ll set up my residence in your neighbourhood; I won’t avoid or shun you; I’ll stroll through your streets. I’ll be Your God; You’ll be my people.”
God wants to be so close to me, it’s like he’s strolling through the neighbourhood. Sitting on a swing in the park
Walking the bike paths. Admiring the flowers.
So often, I try to leave Him at church, or sitting on the coffee table with my Bible. He’s not that kind of a God. He is with me, as i walk the streets of my neighbourhood. As I do life. He is involved and personal. “I am Your God.” That’s personal–right where I live. He’s involved in all the imperfections of my life–the brown grass, the broken fence, the dog droppings that no one picked up. He’s a part of it all, because He’s is my neighbour.
So today, I will walk through my neighbourhood, and thank Him for the small miracle (which isn’t so small) of the God who is there, right where I live.
What evidence do you see of the miracle of God’s presence in your neighbourhood–your daily life?