SEPTEMBER Publisher’s LETTER
As Ambassadors of Christ, We Must Extend Kindness to Others
Each month I get the same phone call. It’s always the day after we have mailed out our sub-scriptions. “Thank you for making my day. I received my magazine today and I’m going to read cover to cover.” Mrs. Lee thinks we’ve done a kind act for her. But her phone call each month brightens my day. Not because of any lengthy in-depth discussion, but because I appreciate her kindness each month to call and say thanks.
A few months ago I was deeply concerned about a very personal issue. Such was my concern that I could not get it off my mind. It would keep me awake and it seemed there was little I could do to rest. Of course I prayed, read Scripture, and asked the Lord for help. It seemed it had such a grip on me that I felt as though I was failing in my faith. Then out of the blue, God did something seemingly random that I knew in a moment was Him. He was showing me that though I had to wait a bit longer, I could depend on his presence in the situation which calmed my restless soul.
Earlier today, a group of friends gathered to help a couple move back into their home. Much of the same group had assembled one year earlier in a panic to quickly gather and save what we could as flood waters had wreaked havoc on their belongings and destroyed much of what they had accumulated over the years. After our work was done, we stood in a circle and prayed together, thanking the Lord for friendships and the ability to help others.
Kindness. It is an underrated powerful act that whether from God or man, is indeed life changing. While it is a “fruit of the spirit,” it is also a daily choice. Much like patience, if we have Jesus, we have the fruit He promised. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Daily we face the battle of free will. Often, the choice to live outside of God’s will and His purposes is the biggest choice we make each day. We must choose to believe He is who He says He is and that we are who He says we are.
You never know what someone else is facing. So many in our community lost so much in the last few months. Many are still rebuilding homes and lives. People are busy. Yet people value themselves when others treat them with value. As ambassadors of Christ, it’s our job to extend kindness daily. We are the hands and feet of Christ in our city and beyond.
Kindness. It takes so little and accomplishes so much.
Changing the world one story at a time.
Baton Rouge Christian Life MAGAZINE
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