A few years ago, when I first began writing this column, I wrote one with the exact same headline as above. In that story I mentioned that in order to get to know others around me better, I felt I needed to invite my somewhat-newish neighbors to dinner. Finally, four years later, I did exactly that, and I must say we had a delightful evening. We had such a nice time that the conversation continued out onto the porch as we said goodnight and could have gone on for another several hours had the day been longer.

So, what made me wait so long? I can give you a boatload of excuses, but none are worthy of consideration. It is just me. Every time I have to step out of my comfort zone I find myself putting off the task and yet, when I finally do it, I discover that it is something I have really enjoyed. Do I wish I had stepped up sooner – of course. I know not everyone is like this. I have friends who are so hospitable that they have different people over for dinner almost weekly – but I am not a born cook, I struggle.

Still, every time I make the effort to do exactly what I should be doing by getting to know those around me, I can say I have enjoyed myself.

Who Is My Neighbor?

The whole of the human race is related to each other, first through Adam and Eve, and then through Noah’s family, so because we are all one big family it only seems right that we get to know one another. The concept that everyone is related to everyone else was brought out several times as we visited the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

I checked various websites to see what is believed outside of biblical circles and found that scientists now agree that DNA shows 99.9% of all humans are related. I like the thought that Jesus told us to love our neighbors and pray for our enemies. If every one of us is related to each other, somehow down through the ages, then all of our neighbors and all of our enemies are our kin. And, of course, family is family.

As I was thinking through this truth I imagined I could pick out the good and the bad in our family trees all I wanted, but if we all started with the same root, more curious is what makes us so different from each other? Is it our beliefs? Our locations? Our unique languages – with the inability to communicate with each other?

It is an interesting concept once I began considering that I was somehow not only in the same species as Hitler, but we both had the same family root – be it one long, long ago. If that is the truth then both Hitler and I are also related, in a fashion, to Mother Teresa and to you. Sometimes I may get to thinking too much, but this was fun.

Going back to Adam and Eve, God created each perfectly. They walked with God in the garden. Adam even got to name the animals, and Eve was created perfectly for Adam, and yet they had been given minds that could make choices and, unfortunately, they made one very bad choice, and that was the end of that beautiful perfection.

Starting Over

A few generations later Adam and Eve’s descendants were so corrupt that God felt the need to destroy all of mankind except for Noah and his family. What one bad choice started with Eve became the drastic downfall for all of mankind. With the new opportunity of finally getting it right Noah and his family were saved from the destruction. But honestly, it didn’t take long for the sin to get away from us yet again.

What is our answer now? Jesus, of course. I am so thrilled that Generation Z is seeking the truth and perfection of Jesus. I’ve been reading CBN’s recent news of 7,000 young adults, from Grand Canyon University, attending a UniteUs evangelical gathering in the Phoenix Arena. In just this fall’s tour UniteUs has reached more than 22,000 Gen Zs with the word of Jesus. We should all keep this generation, those soon to be leaders in our companies and our country, in our prayers that the seeds that have been sown are in the good soil.

As we can see, stepping away from God’s truth hasn’t worked out so well for us. This might be the best time for us to turn back and seek to become what God created us to be. With God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice let us be the ones to reverse the curse by loving all our neighbors.

Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.