Kindness

A few minutes ago we returned from having lunch with one of the senior couples from the local church where I am serving as Evangelist this week. We drove about 30 miles to a restaurant in a nearby community. As I walked back into the Pastor's home this scripture came to my mind, Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ Jesus forgave you" (NKJV). I want to reflect on the first part of the verse, "And be kind to one another..." I thought about this verse from two perspectives; the kindness that others have extended to me as well as my need to extend kindness to others. The family who provided lunch today wanted to offer kindness to the Pastor and myself. I thought of others who have offered words of kindness and acts of kindness (holding the door when my hands were full of packages, picking up our children at school, mowing our yard when I was out of town, visiting me when I was sick, etc.). Each one of us could create our own list of people and the actions that they have taken toward us and for us. We need to take a moment and thank God for the kindness of people and their desire to offer a helping hand as we travel the road of life. We often think of the "difficult" people that we encounter but we need to take the time to remember those people who helped make the load of life a little lighter. But out of these thoughts came the question, "Do I extend kindness to others?" Have I offered to lighten the load of life or have I added more burdens to those people that I encounter? I desire to offer true heartfelt kindness; not the hypocrisy of fancy words but the actions from a heart that recognizes the golden opportunity of being a blessing to someone. Each of us meet people every day of our lives who need kindness released in their direction. Some of they are struggling with difficult problems with no solution in sight but they need to find the "oasis of kindness" in the midst of their "desert of despair." God will use us to share that kindness if we will be sensitive to those opportunities. The real blessing from God comes when we release that kindness and look for no reward to be given back to us. The reward of bringing a few moments of relief from the harsh reality of life becomes the driving force behind our desire to help someone. Be sensitive to those moments and watch God bring those opportunities to show kindness.