Generous With Our Kindness
Friends, I'm so grateful for Derek taking the time to come and share with us this week. I know you've been blessed. Thanks for coming, Derek.
Power of Kindness
Thank you! I want to talk about kindness. We've done a few others through the week, but kindness is a special one I've discovered.
And one thing I've discovered about kindness is that it's difficult to give away because it keeps coming back to you! I've discovered in my years of ministry and in life itself that the more kindness you show, the more kindness is shown to you. It's sort of one of those immutable laws of the Spirit, if you like. It's like trying to outgive God. It just can't be done.
Called to Be Generous
And I want to suggest that God wants us to be generous with our kindness. Somebody once said the best way to be kind is to remember the golden rule and remember that it's your turn. I really like that! It's your turn.
God calls us to be generous with our kindness. And if you stop and think about it, it's what sets Christians apart from the rest of the world.
Living Out Love
Just a little story. A little girl was standing in a queue at church to get a free ice cream cone on a hot summer's day. There was no cost for the ice cream except a hug from the man who was giving out the ice cream. And each child said a polite thank you and offered a hug after receiving an ice cream cone. One little girl gave the person two hugs, walked away saying, “Keep the change.”
That's what it means to be generous with our kindness! We don't expect anything in exchange. We just give it away because of who God is in our lives and the kindness that we've experienced. It's our turn, folks—our turn to reach out to the folk around us and just touch them with something of the love and grace and blessing of having God in our lives.
And I pray that as you go into your day today, I want you to hold on to the fact that God wants us—you and me—to be generous with our kindness. May it be so. May it be so.
Well, I'm grateful for Derek's kindness in taking the time. To teach us this week, friends, Derek also does a WhatsApp teaching every Wednesday called Well Versed. If you'd like to receive those, I'll send a link along with the devotion. And so thank you, Derek, and thank you friends for listening.
