Human beings are made for relationship. That’s what we hear in one of our creation stories, when God looks at the little earth-creature puttering around in the garden, naming animals and walking with God in the evening. The Adam needs a partner, a companion, so God makes another human. We are built to connect with God and each other.

That’s part of what is so horrifying when we read the story of Cain turning against his brother, Abel, or when Joseph’s brother’s sell him into slavery. It’s a break in human relationship, especially those family ties that are ideally unbreakable.

Loneliness and isolation are not good for us mentally, emotionally, or physically. It’s associated with an increased risk of dementia, heart disease, and stroke as well as higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Even before the pandemic, the majority of Americans reported feeling lonely – left out, poorly understood, and lacking companionship. Sometimes those feelings spur us to action, helping us connect and reconnect so we can thrive together. But some folks can get stuck there, feeling that they are alone and unwanted to the point that it’s overwhelming.

When Jesus was asked what mattered most, he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving God and loving neighbor are inseparable.

But “love your neighbor” isn’t just a nice idea. Jesus wasn’t giving us a metaphor about being friendly in general. He was calling us to notice and care for our actual neighbors – the people who live, work, and play around us.

And the good news is we already know how to do this. Think about the ways you’ve seen neighbors show up for each other right here in our community: when families deliver a meal after a surgery, when kids play together in the park, when volunteers stock the shelves of the food pantry, when people gather in prayer after a tragedy. These aren’t just nice things; they are the antidotes to loneliness. They remind us that we belong.

If we say we love God, we’ve got to love our neighbors, even the ones that are harder to love. We are made for relationship – not in the abstract, but real and present and now.

It helps if we remember that our neighbors are made in the image of God, just like we are. We must not give into hateful rhetoric that demonizes folks, that tells us that they are less than us because they think or look or act differently than we do.

Recently I heard a story about a 6-year-old named Blake. For his first day of school, his mom offered to make him a T-shirt with anything on it he liked. She assumed it would be something

sports related, but after thinking about it, Blake asked her for a shirt that said, “I will be your friend.” He explained that it was so “all the kids who need a friend to know that I am here for them.”

This deep compassion that moves us to action is our God-given birthright. It reminds us that we are made for God and for each other. And by God’s grace, we’ve been given to each other to be neighbors.

So how do we get started? Start by paying attention in your neighborhood. Spend some time outside if you can, because that’s where we can meet folks. Smile, introduce yourself, offer compliments like confetti – such a beautiful garden, what a sweet pup. Listen to their stories and offer your own. Who knows, you may find a new friend.

The good news for all of us is the same thing Jesus said over 2,000 years ago. When we remember that loving God and loving our neighbors is more important than all of the things we put in the way, we know that we are not far from the kingdom of God.

We don’t have to be lonely. And we don’t have to allow others to suffer in loneliness and despair. In loving God, we know ourselves to be loved. And in loving our neighbors, we find real and tangible expressions of God’s love for us. So let’s get out there and give ‘em heaven!

The Rev. Jessica Wright is the pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Sherman. She has served at local churches across North Texas as well as with the Air Force chaplain corps. Jessica became a Christian through a hamburger (and an amazing community) at a college campus ministry and still believes sharing food and our stories can help all of us become rooted in the greatest story of all – God’s great love for us in Jesus Christ. The views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Herald Democrat.