Random Acts of Kindness

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Kindness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit listed in Scripture. (Galatians 5:22) In other words, if we believe in Jesus, kindness ought to be pouring out of us like crazy: thoughtfulness of others, compassion toward the needy, sympathy for the grieving, consideration of another’s point of view, etc.

In recent years myriad organizations have sprung up for the sole purpose of performing “random acts of kindness” for no other reason than just to be nice. There’s even a foundation by that name (Random Acts of Kindness International), a non-profit “founded upon the powerful belief in kindness, and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness.”

Of course we don’t need the resources of a foundation to act kindly, and a while ago I received an interesting email from my friend Melanie, who’s made a serious commitment to being kind. She’s decided that every year on her birthday she’s going to devote the entire day to random acts of kindness, doing it in the name of Jesus. Here’s what she wrote:

Hello, Dear Ones! 

Acting kindToday, to mark my 38th trip around the sun, I’m going to be out and about doing (Intentional) Random Acts of Kindness, hoping to bring some sunshine into the lives of others in the community who are special or helpful or just look like they need a smile.

Would you do me the honor of joining me today and blessing someone, a friend or stranger, with an encouraging word, a smile, or some other kindness?

These are things we all try to do anyway, but today I’m going to see if I can do at least 38, and it’ll be fun to know that you’re looking for a way to spread a little love today, too. I’m starting out this morning by putting the kids’ clothes in the dryer so they are nice and warm when they put them on.

This isn’t about a pat on the back but rather: “Let your light so shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)   

We are blessed to be a blessing!

Acts of KindnessSo Melanie determined that on her 38th birthday she would do 38 deliberate, not-really-random acts of kindness, some face-to-face, some in secret, making a commitment to add one more with each new birthday.

Then she ended her email by inviting her friend-list to reply back with ways they thought of to be kind, so the group could swap ideas and inspire each other.

Tomorrow we’ll get to see what a happy birthday she had!

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God that our 11th grandchild may arrive in the next few days!
  2. Please pray about feeding-tube-frustration. Today’s appointment with the specialist resulted only in being turned over to an appointment with a surgeon on Thursday.

Bit by Bit

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Most of us think of God as lofty, mysterious, and grand. He’s definitely all of that but is also detail-oriented and surprisingly practical. I’ve often witnessed this and saw it again today.

Mark ZuckerbergWhile waiting in my dentist’s office this morning, I sifted through a stack of reading material and settled on this week’s TIME magazine. The cover story was about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He’s a fascinating guy for several reasons: (1) he’s only 30; (2) he’s brainy; (3) he’s a tech-guy but loves people; (4) and he hasn’t let mega-money change him.

As I read the article, I was searching for personal information, like the seed-reason why he’s been so successful. Then I read, “Zuckerberg is a great one for breaking down messy, wonky problems into manageable chunks.” That sounds like wisdom, and I filed it for later.

Before I finished the article, the dental hygienist was calling my name. As she clipped on my paper bib I asked her about the possibility of whitening my teeth, so while she cleaned, she gave me a short course in bleaching. But the subject changed when she found several “trouble-spots” and told me that the dentist, Dr. Matt, better take a look. After he did, I realized how our practical God had prepared me (by way of Mark Zuckerberg’s statement) for what I was about to hear.

Happy toothIt turns out I’m going to need some major mouth work: cavities (plural), bridges (plural), and implants (plural). “Oh dear,” I said to Dr. Matt. “This sounds like a major ordeal involving lots of time and big buckaroos.”

“Oh it won’t be so bad,” he said. “Just make one appointment on your way out, and we’ll take it in small steps.”

That sounded an awful lot like a “messy, wonky problem tackled in small chunks.”

This kind of thinking isn’t original with Dr. Matt, though, or even Mark Zuckerberg, since God promoted it first in the Bible. He wants us to conquer our sins one at a time, study Scripture one verse at a time, and communicate with him one prayer at a time. And over the long haul, our lives will be utterly revolutionized.

After Dr. Matt left and the hygienist was lowering the dental chair I said, “And to think I’d been worried about bleaching my teeth.”

She laughed and said, “I guess it’s silly to paint the porch when the house is on fire.”

But if Mark Zuckerberg had been standing there he would have said, “Don’t worry. Just put out the fire one water-bucket at a time.”

“My God will supply every need of yours.” (Philippians 4:19)

Praising and Praying with Mary

Continue to pray for wisdom about the feeding tube, since the phone consultation today wasn’t good enough to make any decisions. Pray for wise conclusions at tomorrow’s appointment.

A Unique Teaching Method

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Christmas is 10 days away, coaxing us to think again about the baby of Bethlehem. How did the Trinity decide together on such an outlandish scheme to bring salvation to mankind? Divinity reduced to a newborn? And even more incredible, reduced to a single cell within the human body of a regular woman?

The NativityBut that became the plan for one important reason: Jesus wanted to do everything we did, to be tempted like us, struggle like us, feel like us, and live with our limitations. Amazingly, he wanted to be just like us. But why?

One reason was to teach us what a well-lived human life should look like. Another, and of course the most important reason, was to save our souls, a rationale we still can’t understand but enormously appreciate.

I love thinking about Jesus as an infant, then a toddler and a little child. Surely he had an ordinary childhood relationship with his mother, and she did for him all the things we moms did/do for our children. Then as he grew, he lived a model life in front of relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Through Scripture’s pages, he became our model, too. But when did his teaching begin? Was it at age 30 at the start of his formal ministry? Or was it well before that? Is it possible his choice to become a born-baby was meant to teach us something, too?

My mom loved kids, preferring their company to that of adults. I think one of the reasons was her ongoing expectation that they could teach her something, even the newborns. She watched them closely, sometimes talking to them as if they were the Lord’s emissaries of wisdom. “Tell me about God,” she’d say, focusing on the squinty eyes of a newborn who was still a year away from answering with words.

But words or not, Mom expected to learn. And she absolutely loved the idea that our Savior was born a baby “in the usual way.” He didn’t arrive to save us dressed in the armor of a warrior. He didn’t inherit a throne through royalty. He didn’t conquer with guns or swords. Instead he entered the scene unremarkably… just by being born.

Mom used to tell us, “When you recite John 3:16, think about the word ‘begotten.’ God gave us his ‘only begotten Son.’ It means ‘born of parents,’ and Jesus was born just like you, helpless, dependent, needy.”

In the ordinariness of his infancy, she wanted us to learn something. She hoped we’d see that our Savior was approachable in his humanity rather than intimidating in his divinity. Years later we would learn the difference between him and us, of his sinlessness and our sin. But as children, she wanted us to relate to, and learn from, our common infancies.

MangerBecause Jesus willingly came in that humble way, we love him all the more.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

 

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. I’m praising God for the beautiful celebration of Christ’s birth at the Moody Church concert tonight.
  2. Please pray for wisdom when I talk to the doctor tomorrow about my feeding tube pain.