Small Acts of Kindness
…with great love
“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” —Matthew 22:37–40
A man once asked Jesus, “Teacher, what is the greatest command in the law of Moses?”
Jesus—the master teacher—simplified the 600+ laws of Moses into two areas:
Love God and love people.
Love God with our entire being, and love others the way we love ourselves. “The entire law,” Jesus summarized, “and all the demands of the prophets are based in these two commands.”
According to Jesus, we were created for relationship. Relationships are key to understanding our purpose. It’s why we are here. It is what gives life meaning. We are called to love God and love those
He has made in His image.
But how do we love God and love people—in a practical way?
If we’re going to live others the way we love ourselves, it will take deep reflection to start and then it will take a radical transformation of our priorities.
If loving God and loving others is the most significant thing we can do, what will that look like in our everyday life? John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, offered up this as a starter:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
John Wesley
To serve is to love. No wonder Wesley and the Methodist church transformed England and ignited the Great Awakening in the early years of the United States. This kind of love not only transforms our priorities, it will transform our world!
This kind of life starts with small acts of kindness done with great love. What does “loving God and loving people” look like to you? What “small acts of kindness” has God put on your heart? Hope you can leave me a thought here—I’d love to hear it.
Blessings
Bill Herried is lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma, Washington. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. He is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren and loves a good biryani. You can learn more about Bill on his blog, Your Daily Encouragement
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
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