"What do you want?"

Yesterday we did our Christmas tradition of handing out homemade treats to our neighbors. Sad to say, we've lived in this neighborhood for four years and we still don't know all our nearest neighbors. Part of the problem is that our neighbors don't seem to be home very much. Two years ago, we went caroling and only two doors were opened to us. The other houses were dark. The other problem is that I'm too shy to just go up to people and introduce myself. It's much easier to look busy when a neighbor walks by than to engage in conversation.

But this year, I've been feeling to need to reach out more to my neighbors. The Holy Spirit has been prompting me to invite them in to share a meal with our family. Handing out Christmas goodies was the first step in getting to know some neighbors, and guess what? every door we knocked on was opened to us!

Besides the names of two lovely couples (one older, one younger), I learned something else: people are not as trusting these days. Some people opened the door cautiously, expecting us to be selling something. One man even asked, "What do you want?" The idea of a real free gift is foreign to many, and the thought of trusting someone other than yourself is ludicrous and naive.

No wonder people have a hard time trusting an unseeable God and receiving His gift of grace! Just as the change of culture from monarchy to democracy affects how people view God as king, the change of modern culture from community to isolation affects people's willingness to interact with a relational God.

But I cannot give up hope. God can change any heart. Like the third verse of 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' says:

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heaven.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

One day, my neighbors will hear a knock and answer the door with a suspicious "What do you want?" only to find that the person knocking is Jesus, and the only thing He wants is to offer His love. And I pray that my neighbor will decide to invite Jesus in!