You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him. — Acts 10:38
Have you ever noticed that, regardless of human hostilities, there’s one thing that transcends and heals? It’s simply being kind to someone. Whenever kindness happens, our human differences diminish and we catch a glimpse of the world God intended. Jesus was endowed with this power: He “traveled around doing good,” and that had a lot to do with him changing the world.
Whenever we look around and see some small, kind thing we can do or say, we are following Christ. Our theology is irrelevant as long as we make this a priority. Kindness was so important to Jesus that he made it the determining factor for life, both now and eternally (Matthew 25:31-49).
Jennifer Webb, my older and wiser sister, gave a great example of the power of kindness in one of her weekly blogs:
I was paying for jeans at JCPenney the other day and the young cashier was doing everything possible to help me save money. After discovering I had no coupons or discounts, he finally told me what I owed, and I paid. He then shocked me by looking me in the eye and asking, “If you could have one super power, what would it be?”
Caught off guard I thought for a moment and then said the first thing that came to mind, “I’d like to be kind to everyone I meet.” He turned to me, smiled and said “You already have that power.”
He made my day! (By the way, you can read more about my special sibling here.)
How will you leap tall buildings and be faster than a speeding bullet today?
Amazing what kindness can do!
Thank you for the reminder.
Thank you for this message! It really appeals to me.
I believe in the power of kindness. I even have garden flags that say that. And apparently I impressed my niece with that advice. Be Kind. I haven’t had nearly as much time with her in our lives. You know family holiday time But not going out together and sharing our truths with each other She said she had 2 pieces of advice 1)Don’t get a $20 tattoo and 2)Be kind She looked at me directly in the eyes
and said “You told me that, Aunt Kathy.)
Well bless my soul. I am thrilled. I love you, Em.
My niece just told me I taught her to always be kind. I am so touched. Her other piece of advice (not from me but could be) “Don’t ever pay $20 for a tattoo”