TUESDAY, February 18 Expectations
Matthew 25:40 MSG
Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
The least of these. The ignored or overlooked. We don't expect to find Jesus here. We look for more saintly and sacred spaces. Our expectations blind us.
Lucado shares a wonderful story of world-class violinist Joshua Bell who goes to a DC Metro Station and plays his 3.5 million dollar violin as a street musician, complete with open case for donations. In an hour, he makes $37. Three nights earlier, he played at a symphony hall for about $1000 a minute. The difference? People didn't come to the Metro expecting to such quality; they didn't come expecting to be interrupted by perfection. Our expectations blind us to what lies within.
If we expect to see Jesus in every face we encounter, we will find him. We will find where and how to serve him. We will discover opportunities for compassion and kindness.
Open my eyes, Lord, and let me expect Jesus everywhere, and may I respond accordingly.
MONDAY, February 17 Kindness
Ephesians 4:32 CEB
Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.
Kindness. Be kind. We toss the word around as a virtue, the obvious manner in which we should act. But truly KIND people are a step above others. They are kind to the unloved. They reach out to those on the 'other side of the tracks'. They perform acts of kindness for those who think differently, who take what they want, perhaps even enemies. Their deeds are silently done without the desire for recognition. Compassion and kindness go hand in hand.
Lucado asks, 'What's your kindness quotient?' A good question! We can start small. Kindness often need not be on a world-shattering scale. The next door neighbor with the messy yard is a good start! Shovel their walk of snow, pick up their trash. Think of it as a RAK meter. Could I list a deliberate Random Act of Kindness performed at day's end...... every day? It doesn't have to be big, just intentional. A good challenge.
Kindness lays the seeds for a life of compassion. Kindness is the start of servant-hood. Kindness seeks out service. What is MY quotient?
SUNDAY, February 16 Servanthood
Matthew 20:28 MSG
[Jesus] came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
Sometimes servant-hood means doing things that aren't top on our list. It means doing the hard stuff, the dirty stuff. God calls us to use our talents, but not always in the manner we expect! We might not think our gifts include THAT kind of service!
But it does. Look at Jesus. He often chose the lesser road, the darker shadows, the shadier companions. That was where he was needed. Do I do the same? Not often! Who do I ask to help me on a committee? Where do I choose to offer my gifts? Do I seek the safe, the secure, the clean and tidy?
What kind of servant am I? What kind of servant should I be?
SATURDAY, February 15 Spirit Clothed
Revelation 3:20 GNT
Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me.
Lucado paints a word picture of God as a pair of gloves, filling the fingers with the Spirit to enable us to do God-work. A closed fist doesn't open to the world; the fingers must fill the glove to reach out and be useful.
"God gets his fingers into our lives, inch by inch reclaiming the territory that is rightfully his." (p. 53)It puts a different slant on getting dressed in the morning. When I pull on my shoes, am I thinking, 'Where will God take my feet today as we work together?' As I wrap my heart and soul with a warm shirt, do I allow the God-spirit to warm my heart to reach out to those who are hurting around me? When I put on my work gloves at a Habitat site, do I stop to think that God is working through my fingers as well? As I don my eyeglasses each day, do I ever stop and ask God to give me clear vision to SEE where love and compassion is needed?
God stands next to me each morning in the bedroom, knocking. How often do I open myself up and allow God in to eat, to work through me? Come, Lord Jesus, come inside!
FRIDAY, February 14 Second Look
2 Corinthians 5:16 MSG
Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.
No labels. No 'first' impressions. Our call as Christians is to take the second look, the look inside, to the heart that lies within. We sometimes treat people as trash, to be tossed aside, based solely on that first look.
As an artist, I love to take those materials to be tossed out and recycle them, to find the inherent beauty in which they can be transformed. Jesus does this with us as well. We are blemished and unfinished. But through Christ, we can glow with the light of a new soul.
As there people around me that I have tossed out? That I have neglected to know and love? Do I need to take a second look and allow God to work through me? Of what handiwork of God can I be a part?
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