(by pastor Jean)
Did you know that tomorrow, November 13th is World Kindness Day? What a wonderful opportunity for us as Christians to let our lights shine for Jesus! Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) and therefore if we are born again, we have the seed of kindness in our hearts (recreated spirits). However, like love we have to make the decision to express that kindness. Our natural man would prefer to act in selfishness but let’s be led by the Spirit (Gal 5:16, 18) and look for opportunities to be kind. Everything that Jesus said and did was motivated by kindness, “He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil” (Acts 10:38; NIV). Jesus also encouraged His disciples to do the same as we see in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) which Jesus ends by saying, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). Another person in the Bible who was known for kindness is Dorcas. She was, “always doing kind things for others and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36; NLT). We can show kindness in how we speak (Prov 16:24, Eph 4:29) and how we act (Eph 4:32, Col 3:12, 1 Cor 13:4, 1 John 3:18). When we show kindness to others, especially non-Christians, it is one way of showing them Jesus (John 13:35). Of course, being kind isn’t something we just do on one day in the year, we need to let it become a lifestyle, as King Solomon said in Eccles 3:12, “I know nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good as long as they live” (AMP). Let’s look for some opportunities to do some random acts of kindness and make this world a happier place!