Join us sundays at 8:00 & 10:30 AM

Thursday, May 28, 2020 - Join Pastor John for a Daily Devotional

May 28, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

“The Fruit of Kindness”

I find myself being overwhelmed with all the information that is being thrown at me on a daily basis. It seems to be coming at me from different places, and some of it is even a bit contradictory. When I think about how it affects the church, it is no less intimidating. For example, there is the number of people who can meet together. What about masks? How far apart do the musicians have to be from each other? How do we keep the bathrooms clean? And that is just a small sample size. Then, if you tack on what is a mandate? What is a suggestion? What is a recommendation? All of it can be downright confusing! I find myself caught somewhere between wanting to do the right thing, and just incredible frustration. Where I land is to try to honor the Lord with my words and actions, and look for those opportunities to make a difference (even if it’s a small one) in someone’s life.

I am reminded of a story I heard about another pastor who had a friend that many years ago became committed to be a good shepherd on the highways of California. This man prayed, “Lord, I want to honor you with the way I drive. I want to drive with an awareness of people.” The very morning he prayed that prayer, he was driving to work on the Hollywood Freeway, when he saw a car which had broken down. There was a lady who was reaching into the trunk of her car, -- and she appeared to be very upset. The man knew he was going to be late for work, but he figured, “I might as well start on that prayer right now.” He stopped, and the women told him she had no spare tire in the car. He said, “Well, I’ll see if my spare tire will fit.” He got out his spare tire, and put it on her car. She thanked him warmly, and sped off. Before she left, she got his address, so that she could return that spare tire back to him. Two days later, this pastor’s friend returned home from work with his wife waiting at the door. She said, “Well, what’s this about?” And he said, “What 's what about?” He followed her into the living room, and there was this big home entertainment center. You remember the kind I am talking about. It was a color television, stereo, record player, -- all in one, giant console. The man asked, “Where did it come from?” His wife said, “How should I know?” They opened the card and there was this simple message that read, “I want to give you this as a show of my appreciation. Because of your kindness two days ago, I was able to spend the last two hours of my husband’s life with him.” And the card was signed, “Mrs. Nat King Cole.”

It’s very unlikely that any of us, through our kindness, are ever going to receive such a spectacular reward. And yet, we see what awesome potential there is when we cultivate the fruit of kindness in our lives. As such, let us heed these timely and timeless words of the prophet Micah (6:8), “He has told you, O people, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”