飛機上鄰座的乘客告訴我，她沒有宗教信仰，但卻移民到了一個很多基督徒居住的城鎮。當她提及大部分的鄰居都上教堂時，我問她有什麼經歷。她說自己永遠無法回報他們的慷慨。當她帶著行動不便的父親來到這新的家園時，鄰居們在她家門外修建一條坡道方便輪椅出入，還捐贈一張醫療床和醫療保健用品給他們。她說：「如果成為基督徒能使人變得如此善良，那麼每個人都應該成為基督徒。」

她所說的正是耶穌所期盼的！耶穌囑咐門徒：「你們的光也當這樣照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父」（馬太福音5章16節）。使徒彼得聽從基督的教導，勸勉眾信徒：「你們在外邦人中，應當品行端正，叫那些毀謗你們是作惡的，因看見你們的好行為，……歸榮耀給上帝。」（彼得前書2章12節）

我們身邊那些尚未信主的鄰居可能不理解你我所相信的，也不明白我們為何相信。但不用灰心，只要還有一件事他們也百思不解就行了，那就是我們對他們慷慨的愛。鄰座的乘客稱讚她的基督徒鄰居們持續關心她，儘管如她所說，她並非「他們的一分子」，但她知道自己是因耶穌的緣故而被愛，因此她感謝上帝。她或許還未相信耶穌，但她卻慶幸身邊有相信耶穌的人。

My seatmate on the flight told me she was nonreligious and had immigrated to a town that was home to numerous Christians. When she mentioned that most of her neighbors went to church, I asked about her experience. She said she could never repay their generosity. When she brought her disabled father to her new country, her neighbors built a ramp to her house and donated a hospital bed and medical supplies. She said, “If being a Christian makes one so kind, everyone should be a Christian.”

Exactly what Jesus hoped she’d say! He told His disciples, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Peter heard Christ’s command and passed it on: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12).

Our neighbors who don’t have faith in Jesus may not understand what we believe and why we believe it. Don’t sweat it, as long as there’s one more thing they can’t understand: the extravagance of our love. My seatmate marveled that her Christian neighbors continue to care for her even though she isn’t, in her words, “one of them.” She knows she’s loved, for Jesus’ sake, and she gives thanks to God. She may not yet believe in Him, but she’s grateful that others do.