I grew up in a neighborhood with big yards. On summer days, friends came around for kickball and baseball; on summer nights, we chased fireflies into jars with holes in the lid and grass in the bottom.  Idyllic, right? My clearest memory of that time, however, is of a neighbor kid who often broke all the rules at games and bullied kids at the bus stop. Once, in my anger at the way she was picking on someone, I took my purse and whacked it in her direction. I completely forgot to “use my words,” such as “Stop that!” “You shouldn’t do that!” or “You are making me really angry.” In trying to be a good neighbor to one child, I did wrong toward another.

Jesus wants us to love our neighbors—all of them! He wants us to love the kids in our actual neighborhoods, our teammates on sports teams, and all the teachers and students at our schools. We are to love the easy ones–and the people who are different–the ones who might make us feel uncomfortable or even angry. Jesus made it clear, in the Bible story of the Good Samaritan, that the despised Samaritan was the one who lived a life of a good neighbor toward someone who was not easy for him to love and who would almost certainly have not shown him love if the situation was reversed.

What does it mean for our kids to be a good neighbor? How can we help them love all others with a Christlike love?

In Philippians 1:9, the Apostle Paul prayed for the people that their love would “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” In Ephesians 1:19, he reminds the people that they can even call upon the same power that drew Jesus up from the grave to help us!

This school year, why commit to abounding “more and more in knowledge”? To dive deeper into God’s Word with your child and pray together for the Holy Spirit’s help in loving all who might cross your path this year, at school and everywhere else?  Many Bibles and devotional books are geared toward boys or girls from toddlerhood to teens. Besides being written at different reading levels, they can help your child apply what he or she is learning to their daily lives. Tyndale House, for example, has a new devotional coming soon called Hands-On Bible: 365 Devotions for Kids: Faith-Filled Activities for Families.

Children’s novels can also help kids develop empathy for students with special needs or for those who come from different backgrounds. For example, books such as Wonder by R.J. Palacio can open a child’s eyes to ways they can be kind to others at school, and my own children’s novel, Sophie’s Quest, helps kids to develop respect and compassion for others who come from different backgrounds and who may not yet know Jesus. The Storyteller’s Beads, by Jane Kurtz, is also a lovely story out of Ethiopia about friendship and survival among refugee children. While Wonder and The Storyteller’s Beads aren’t Christian books per se (Sophie’s Quest was published by a British Christian publisher and has a faith-based message), they help our children put themselves in someone else’s shoes and encourage a sense of compassion.

Modeling for kids your own desire to “love your neighbor”—no matter who they are—will help them see that loving with a Christlike love is a lifelong adventure!