Today I got a "two fer" out of my daily devotional which accompanies the Bible in a year reading. I often get more than one topic to write about, and have to choose one since they do not always relate. Today I think they dovetail very nicely.
This is a great visual of what a dovetail means.
See how nicely they fit together.
The first topic is "kindness". This comes from the Psalm reading written by David about God's great kindness to him and his. "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." a quote from Plato was given to open the discussion. Though we do not always feel as if everyone else is "fighting a hard battle," I would dare say at some point the majority-or almost all of us will fight a battle. That in itself is a good enough reason for our kindness without further explanation. BUT God is always kind to us. How do we know this? "In His faithfulness, He shows us 'unfailing kindness.' " We are emulating Who God is by showing kindness for He is always kind.
Jesus tells us
"Then the King (Jesus) will say,
'I'm telling the solemn truth:
Whenever you did one of these things
to someone overlooked or ignored (the least of these),
that was Me (Jesus)~
you did it to Me.' "
Matthew 25:40
The author reminds us, "See the least and the last as Jesus in disguise." How easy it is to be kind to our neighbor, our family, and those we love. It is not so easy to serve those in the margins, those invisible to society, those who seem to have caused their own problems, those we are not comfortable around. Sister Theresa once explained how she was able to serve the very least of these by saying she saw Jesus when she looked upon them. Here comes point two---we are given talents to use and will be held accountable for our willingness to risk discomfort by showing kindness to all.
I have had it blow up in my face (usually from my own failures) when I tried to be kind. It is not always easy, not always pretty, not always what I want to do, but I am called to serve "the least of these." This quote from the author sums it all up so nicely, "Life is not a competition that you have to win. It is not supposed to be a rat race. Life is a huge privilege and an opportunity. God has trusted you with gifts and abilities, which He wants you to use. Use them or lose them. He is faithful to us and He expects us to be faithful to Him."
Kindness is always worth the risk of rejection. Use it or lose it---Indeed!
"When you are kind to others,
you help yourself;
when you re cruel to others,
you hurt yourself."
Proverbs 11:17
Showing kindness to others should be something we seek to do each and every day. When we are kind and loving, we can pray that others see Jesus in and through us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Lulu!
It is so easy to do. Why we do not always show kindness is a puzzle!
DeleteBlessings, Martha!
Could it be that the heart of man is prone to sinfulness?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Spot on!
DeleteBlessings!
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