Spiritually Speaking – February 2020

Spiritually Speaking

God can use us to make a tremendous difference in the lives of others…if we will just let Him. Here are three practical ways in which you and I can demonstrate the Kindness of Christ every day:

Be kind in our WORDS:
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and
those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21

Words are powerful, and the things we say to others can have a tremendous effect on their lives. When we speak words of kindness, it’s as though we breathe new life into the individual we are talking with. May we be aware that our words CAN— and often DO— make a difference in the lives of others.

Be kind in our DEEDS:
“Jesus went around doing good.” Acts 10:38

Jesus’ ministry was characterized by doing “random acts of kindness” everywhere He went. Wouldn’t it be great if these words were printed on our gravestones: “He went around doing good.” What a powerful testimony that would be to others of a life well-lived.

Some construction workers were building a new high-rise apartment building right across the street from the local hospital.

One day while they were working on the 3rd floor of the new building, some of the workers noticed a little girl standing in the hospital window staring at them. The next day the same little girl, who was watching them, held up a poster that said, “My name is Lisa. What are your names?”

During their lunch break, the men went to a store and bought poster board on which they wrote their names in large letters: Bill, Bob, Ted, John, and Mitch. Then they held it up for Lisa to see.

The next day Lisa appeared in the same window, holding up a poster, which read: I’m 7 years old. How old are you? For several days this communication went back and forth.

Then one day they noticed that Lisa wasn’t standing in the window anymore. In Lisa’s place was a nurse holding up a poster that said, “Lisa passed away last night. Thank you for your kindness.”

Be kind in our SPIRIT:
“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

If you live long enough in this sinful world, someone is going to wrong you, sin against you, and hurt you deeply. When that happens, you can do one of two things:

(1) You can stay angry and let your spirit become poisoned with bitterness and resentment
OR
(2) You can forgive the wrong they committed against you.
We are never more like Christ than when we are willing to forgive another.

After many years of serving in New Guinea, a missionary returned home to the
United States. One day his minister friend asked him to describe what life was like when he first went there. He said, “I found a mission field there that looked more hopeless than if God had sent me to a jungle to convert wild tigers to Christ.”

“The people were barbaric savages, void of any sense of morality. If a mother was carrying her baby and the baby wouldn’t stop crying, she would throw the baby along the roadside and leave it there to die. If a man saw his elderly father fall and break an arm or a leg, he would just leave him there to suffer all alone. The New Guinea people showed absolutely no kindness or compassion toward anyone.”

Then the minister friend asked, “Did you start seeing big changes in their
behavior after you started preaching the gospel?”

The missionary responded, “No. I started seeing changes WHEN THEY SAW ME DEMONSTRATE the love and kindness of Christ toward them.

“When I would see a mother throw her crying baby along the roadside, I would pick up the baby and comfort him until he stopped crying; then I would hand him back to his mother.

“When I would learn of an elderly man or woman who had fallen and broken an arm or leg, I would go to their hut and set the broken limb with a stint and take care of them until they healed.

“When I found someone who was starving, I would bring them to my hut and give them food and water.

“And after a while, the New Guinea people started to ask me about the meaning of my actions. IT WAS THEN that I began to tell them about a kind, loving, and compassionate Savior named Jesus!

The Reverend Reggie Braziel
Christian Hope Church of Christ—Plymouth, North Carolina

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