Engaging Others: As a Family
Kelli Benfield, Director | Communications
One of my favorite qualities about Jesus is that when he
looked at others he saw their one great need: to KNOW Him personally and to BELIEVE
in Him. As we read in Matthew 8, Jesus knew the economic, social, and cultural
status of those He encountered. As in so many other accounts throughout
scripture, nothing stopped Him from engaging with the leper, the centurion, a
servant, a paralytic…
As a mom, I try to help my child to have those same
qualities of respecting others and treating others the way Jesus would treat
them. To not be intimidated, or even afraid, of someone who is not like you. To
truly see others as Christ sees them because when it comes down to it, we all
have that same great need.
As a family, we have worked at getting to know our neighbors
especially in a time when people roll into their garages and you actually never
see them outside. One of the unique ways our neighborhood families came
together was on Halloween. We met at one location, and then we were off for the
candy extravaganza. While the kids were jetting up and down the sidewalks, this
was when I really had time to talk to parents and hear their stories. Find out
where they were coming from, if they were attending a church anywhere, and
gauging where Christ stood in their lives. It helped lay the ground work for
future conversations and it created more
open doors in our neighborhood.
I challenge you to be intentional this month. Connect with another
family in your neighborhood and think about the conversations you can start
having as doors are opening. If you are the dad or mom handing out the candy,
ask “Do you live in this neighborhood?” and go from there. If you are walking
around with the kids, try and invite another family to go with you. Walk up to
the open doors and say, “Hi, I am one of your neighbors. My name is…” Write
your information down on a card to handout, so that your neighbors will know your
names and will know how to get in touch with you even if they don’t want to
walk down the street.
TWEETABLE QUOTE: Open doors lead to open conversations, which can
lead to intentionally Jesus-focused conversations. #RareElements
