Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. —Colossians 3:12
True kindness sometimes shows itself in tireless effort and sleepless nights. It can translate into grocery shopping for the family instead of shoe shopping for ourselves. It can mean relinquishing our plans when a daughter needs to talk or hosting neighbors instead of enjoying a quiet evening.
But the goal of it all is to show others the goodness of Christ. And to do that consistently and well, we need the training, accountability, and support that relationships with other believers can provide.
Yes, people can be perturbing. Family life would be a lot less stressful if spouses and children didn’t sometimes act irresponsibly or disregard our feelings. Ministry would go more smoothly if people weren’t so needy or would just get their act together.
While people may cause the lion’s share of our headaches, when we serve people, we serve Christ. And when we treat people with kindness, we become channels of blessing, dispensing gracious words and actions that can’t help but adorn the gospel of Christ.
Make it Personal
How will you be remembered by your family and friends? Will they remember only what you did, or will they remember how you did it?