How you can have an encounter this year with your neighbors – and with Jesus

February 3, 2025

By Jay Height and Jeremy Height

In Luke 8, we find Jesus where we often find Him in the Gospels — on the move. And while He is on the move, Jesus has a life-changing encounter with an unnamed woman, whose issue with blood gives us a glimpse, not only of radical faith, but also of the intersection of blessing our community and bringing people to Jesus.

This woman was desperate because of her illness. It would have caused her not only physical pain, but also would have made her to be considered “unclean.” She was thus excluded from the religious and community life that is essential for humans to thrive.

She lacked not only health, but also community and relationships. The solution? Healing.

She likely had attempted every other option available to her over the years, but nothing had worked.

So, she put her hope in Jesus. And Jesus not only brought healing, Jesus made her whole.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus shows us how to love our neighbors by not only meeting physical needs, but also by journeying toward deeper healing and wholeness. When we follow Jesus’ example, each of us finds holistic healing in Him — physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Jesus offers complete healing to each of His daughters and sons.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to reflect that Good News to our neighbors and in our communities. Many times, our neighbors come to our churches needing help. Like Jesus, we should seek to help our neighbors in respectful, empowering ways when we are able.

On this journey, we also have the opportunity to develop meaningful friendships. Through this incarnational ministry, we are image bearers of Jesus and the salvation offered by our Lord and Savior.

A specific need may lead a neighbor to seek help. In this process, your neighbor can also come to realize his or her need for God and how God, reflected by the father in the Prodigal Son parable, has been pursuing them with His love and grace.

This gracious God we follow provides what we need most deeply: a family to belong within.

In this “Jesus Encounter” in Luke 8, one of the pivotal moments occurs when Jesus names this woman as a “daughter.” Where she had been isolated, labeled and ostracized, Jesus offered relationship, a healed identity and a restored community.

More than physical healing, this woman of radical faith found a new identity as she was made whole.

As you reflect on the intersection of blessing your community and bringing people to Jesus, remember that everything you do and say can reflect the love of Jesus. And when someone has a “Jesus Encounter,” their whole life can be transformed. In Jesus, they can find their true identity, as a loved child of God.

This year, prayerfully look for ways to provide your neighbors with encounters with Jesus. Those might include:

  • Growing food co-ops.
  • Engaging in mentoring and tutoring.
  • Journeying with neighbors through Celebrate Recovery and neighbor potlucks.
  • Meeting tangible needs by giving out bags of groceries, bus tickets and job training.

But don’t stop there. Build friendships and cultivate community. Grow deep roots in your neighborhood.

And as you bless your community, your church can be used by the Holy Spirit to introduce your neighbors to a life-transforming relationship with Jesus.

Jay Height is executive director of Shepherd Community Center in Indianapolis. His son, Jeremy Height, is a missionary, serving with his family in Croatia.

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