A Seed of Kindness Can Sow Incredible Change

A kind word. An act of service. A listening ear.

It’s amazing what a little kindness can do. Moods lighten. We feel seen and valued. Trust is built. We show people they matter, and not just to us, but to the God who made them.

Kindness travels much further than we know, swift on the wings of encouragement and buoyed by the hope it brings (Proverbs 25:25), and we are to build up others in grace and truth. The love of God compels us to not only encouragement for those around us, but in the sharing of hearts and lives so that we may be strengthened in the Lord.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. — Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

We are to spur each other on towards deep love and good deeds, persevering through trials while being propelled by hope.

Kindness and encouragement are external outpourings of an internal overflow. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19) and it’s from this love that leads us into the hurts of others with a healing salve of empathy and support. Our lives should lead from love. Love from relationship with Christ, to hear his heartbeat and align it with ours.

The way Jesus sees and treats people is our standard, and Jesus made people a priority. Is your elderly neighbor in need of a visit? Could your friend in another state use a fun card in the mail? Or the co-worker who quietly does her job day in and out without recognition—see if she’d like a specialty coffee you can pick up on your way in.

Jesus tells us to align our lives with love:

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)

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Honored to be talking about kindness over at Crossmap. Join me there?