10-19-2020
Within minutes of coming home from school, my daughter was in tears. She was fine when she got off the bus, so something must’ve happened while she was putting away her backpack and shoes. Did she trip on the steps and get hurt? It didn’t sound like a hurt cry. Did her brother call her a mean name? No, he wasn’t in the garage where she was. Did her shoe get a hole in it and now she can’t wear them anymore? My mommy mind was thinking of everything.
Tears rolled down her face as she came into the living room. I hugged her and asked what was wrong. Obviously, it was something that we couldn’t fix.
“I left my lunch box on the bus!” she cried.
I told her it would be ok. She has an extra lunch box and there is a lost and found for bus items. We would use her other lunch box, and she could check the lost and found when she got on the bus next time. Problem solved. Tears done.
On the next school day morning, my son comes inside from taking our recycling tubs to the curb, and he is holding my daughter’s lunchbox. “Look what I have!” She’s so excited to have her lunchbox back before school. Now, we can pack her lunch like normal. How did my son get it though?
My kids’ bus passes our house several times every day because it takes kids to three or four schools (elementary, the 6th grade center, middle school, high school). On one trip by our house, the bus driver recognized my son at the street, knew who his sister was, and knew she forgot her lunchbox. He took the time to pull over, talk to my son, and return the lost item!
My daughter wrote her bus driver a thank you note and drew him a picture. What a great act of kindness!
Maybe now you’re thinking this heaven moment will be to do unto others as you would have them do to you or to be thankful in all circumstances. This time, it’s neither...
Oddly enough, the thing I thought about when this happened was how we should love our enemies because even unbelievers are kind when people are kind to them. My daughter is a cute and helpful kid, and many adults would return a lost lunch box. I am grateful that the bus driver helped her, and I think all people should be kind to each other.
That’s the point! Our culture already says all people should be kind. However, as Christians we’re supposed to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We should be kind to our neighbors AND our enemies. We should be kind because we’re full of the fruit of the spirit which includes a powerful type of kindness that can only come from God. It is more than a random act of kindness; it’s forgiving and caring for all people.
The heart twisting, convicting question is who is my enemy? Who am I typically unkind to? Who disagrees with me on everything? Who has hurt me or my family? Who has negatively impacted my life? Who posted something hateful on social media? Who believes in something morally or ethically wrong? Who are my neighbors and enemies? They’re sinners, like me. They need Jesus’ love, like me. I can give them kind words and kind actions. I can share the greatest love of all time with them: the gospel.
We have all sinned which separates us from God. Thankfully, our God is gracious and sent his son to die for us, to take our shame and guilt, and to defeat death by rising to life. We can decide to follow Jesus by admitting our wrongs, believing all that Christ said and did, and committing our lives to obeying the Lord.
This is the ultimate kindness pouring out from love. This is radical.
Today’s heaven moment is pulling at my heart because I’m learning that my love should be notably different from a non-Christian. My kindness comes with my witness because Christian love means sharing Jesus. Therefore, when I do a kind act, I immediately point it back to God explaining that I'm behaving like this because of what Jesus did for me.
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
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