As I was reading through the book of Colossians a month ago, I ended up camping out on 3 verses. At that time, I was praying and dreaming about sharing something on my blog space for the season of advent and then the Holy Spirit dropped these 4 terms from these 3 verses onto my heart. They have encouraged and inspired me and I hope they do the same for you as we take this short advent journey together.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:12 – 14 // The Bible
It feels a little bit strange for me to be penning thoughts on kindness again after my recent post – Have courage and be kind | hopeofheart – but kindness is something that brings me to tears over and over and over again. There is something so powerful in putting ourselves and our needs and our wants and our hurts and our victories aside, and taking the time to think of somebody else, to celebrate with somebody else, to cry and walk through the realities of life with somebody else, to write a note that you’re thinking of somebody else and to generously bless somebody else. There is something so rewarding in the act of being kind.
“Have courage and be kind” If you’ve followed my blog you’ll know this is a favourite quote because its so empowering. It takes courage to be kind, and yet the Bible implores us and ENcourages us so much to be kind. Ephesians 4:32 reads, “Be kind to one another” That’s pretty simple and straight forward to me. And it doesn’t give a circumstance or scenario or context to be a certain way in order to be kind. No, the encouragement is plain – be kind to one another. Pluck up the courage, put your big girl panties on, and be kind!
As always, my greatest example is the Lord. In a passage of scripture in John 4, Jesus (a Jew) is passing through Samaria inhabited by Samaritans (gentiles). Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another, in fact it was frowned upon for a Jew to talk to a gentile. Jesus, parched from his journey, stops at a well but has no means to draw himself a drink. A Samaritan woman approaches and they strike up a conversation. She is confused by his presence in her village as well as the fact that he has no bucket to draw water with. He is proclaiming the good news of himself as the messiah to her by declaring that the water he gives is fresh, living water which will completely quench the thirst of those who ask for it. She wants of this great revelation, and Jesus commands her to first go and call her husband. She responds that she has no husband, and in kindness, Jesus chooses to continue the conversation and prophetically outlines part of her life story, and the brokenness and heartaches she has had to endure. He shows her how much he knows her and still completely loves her, regardless of her Samaritan title. Her simple response of truth encouraged Jesus’s kindness to burst forth, which created the opportunity for her and her family to accept the invitation of God’s grace and forgiveness and the living water only he provides. The living water of redemption and restoration. A small act of kindness changed her life.
Charles Glassman said, “Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.” And 2020 has definitely been a year of struggle for most of us in many different shapes and forms. Let’s kick down the walls of pretense and pride. Let’s throw off the mis-conceptions and assumptions and lets live in the reality that we all struggle from time to time and we all need to show or receive kindness. Not because we have to, but because we are his chosen ones, his beloved. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. ” (quote from Aesop), so let’s clothe ourselves with kindness this advent and Christmas season and “have courage and be kind.” It will be life-changing!
Have a wonderful 2nd Sunday of Advent!
xxx
hope of heart 