Like a Good Neighbor...

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29)

This is the famous story of the “Good Samaritan” about a man who cared for a total stranger who had fallen among thieves and been left for dead. It has great lessons about caring for our fellow man, whether it benefits us or not, and even if we are inconvenienced. In our society, most of us don’t even know our neighbors. It is a shame to live next door to someone and never actually meet them or know their names, but you cannot compare today’s world to several generations ago. Many of us drive 20 miles to work every day. The “community” in my youth consisted of the households within walking distance of our house. A person’s “community” today spans the globe, and his “neighbors” can live hundreds of miles away. The point of the story is to help people out when the opportunity presents itself and you have the means to do so.

I say all of that because it is a blessing when you get the benefits of a neighbor who is also a real neighbor. We bought a house in Shawnee 17 years ago this month. Our next door neighbors to the south, Carl and Donna Phillips, immediately made themselves friendly to us. We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors. Our son Jeff was 9 years old at the time. There were a couple of other kids in the neighborhood his age, but he really didn’t have “neighborhood” friends. Instead, he made friends with Carl and Donna, who are a generation older than his parents. He hung out at their place often, and they loved it. Sometimes we would look up and ask, “Where’s Jeff?” Carl and Donna had a wooden ginger bread boy that they would put in the window when Jeff was over there, and all we had to do was look at that window, and sure enough, Jeff would be at their house. He drew them a “map” to his “fort” in our back yard. They still have that map 17 years later. We have shared a raspberry patch between our houses for years. Whenever we are both out in the yard at the same time, we stop for a while and stand at the fence at chat about life and stuff, just like they did in Mayberry. Carl has some great stories. He was one of the very first soldiers to enter the Dachau concentration camp at the end of WWII. Carl and two of his fellow soldiers were the first three men to step foot on the property that had been abandoned by the Nazi troops as Germany fell. He saw firsthand the suffering and plight of those who lived in that hell on earth. Carl retired a while back from Merriam Sign Co., a local sign business he owned for many years. Even after that, he would still make signs for people, and you would see him out in the back yard many nights sanding and painting. He made a couple of signs for our church and refused to take money for them. He screen printed 200 cloth children’s “backpacks” for one of our missions trips to Belize, and again would not hear of being paid for it. He was happy to be able to participate in the work of bringing the light of Jesus to others. Carl and Donna are faithful believers in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we often share the bond of life in Christ that God gives to those who have placed their faith in the risen Saviour. When we talk about “life and stuff”, it often includes real life; the eternal kind in Christ Jesus. They have their own home church, but the last year or so they have come to our Wednesday night Bible studies to fellowship with the great folks of Crest Bible Church and learn more about our Lord. It took less than a nano-second for the gracious loving personalities of Carl and Donna to endear them to the people of our church. A kinder and more “classy” gentleman and lady I have never met.

Early Thursday morning, September 15, 2011, Carl Phillips went home to enter into the joy of his Lord and Saviour. Working around paint and chemicals all his life finally took its toll, and lung cancer ended the life of this dear man at age 88. His obituary was in the paper, but other than friends and family, no one will notice. Men like Carl Phillips are the true definition of “salt of the earth”. You will be greatly missed, my friend, but it will only be temporary. I hope our mansions in heaven are next to each other so we can pick raspberries and stand at the fence and praise our Lord. Someday soon, we will join together around the throne of God to praise him forever.